House Guest
by everythingmeanssomething
Summary: An eighteen year old girl is taken from her home in the middle of the night. What does she have to do with Voldemort? And where does Severus Snape fit into all this? It says Romance/Drama but there are some really funny parts too.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters/plot that you recognize. The only things I own are the characters I have created, and the changes in plot that occur due to their addition to the Harry Potter world. **

**This is my first fan fiction so please be nice. Any advice and reviews are greatly appreciated. Enjoy the story and thanks for reading.**

"Grandfather," the girl whispered; the word barely reaching her own ears.

"Surprised?" the man in the elegant chair responded. "Ah, I suppose you thought we had forgotten all about you, hmm? Not to worry, my dear, we have a very special task for you." At the second mention of "we" the girl quickly glanced around. She was in the standard description of a dungeon. This was exactly how she had imagined them when she used to read medieval novels.

However, the room was not what caused her breath to hitch and her heart to skip a beat. There were dozens of hooded figures in the room. _I'm going to die, _she thought frantically. Even the door she had entered through was blocked by figures.

As if by reading her mind, the man in the throne said, "Don't be silly. I would never kill you, not when you could be such a valuable asset alive. No, alive you can help us to win but dead, you're useless."

She just stood there motionless. His words washed over her and she was unable to think clearly. All her reflexes and instincts blended together and blurred in her brain.

"I know what you are," her grandfather said calmly, as if bored by the topic at hand. "You are the Queen, aren't you?… Aren't you?… ANSWER ME!" He flung himself out of the chair and grabbed the girl's throat.

Although she was staring death in the face, she had one last ploy.

"The voices, they tell me things. They tell me what to do. And sometimes, if you watch really, really closely at night, you can see the faces," she said with a sardonic smile.

"What the bloody hell are you going on about?" The man's face took on a confused, almost fearful look, as his hand released her throat.

This only encouraged her to continue. "The faces are those of the dead, those whose souls are damned to walk this earth forever. You can still see the blood. And if their hatred is strong enough, you can even smell the stench of their rotting corpses. That's the only way you can know when they are coming. It's the only warning, the only chance for preparation." She finished her rant, panting, with the malicious smile still upon her lips.

Her grandfather motioned for the hooded figure closest jto the door to come forward. She assumed it was the man who had brought her to this godforsaken place.

"What is wrong with her?" the girl's grandfather interrogated.

"I don't know, sir. Perhaps she has finally cracked under the pressure of being the Queen." The man chose his words carefully, but spoke with confidence oozing from his voice. This would either be a man to respect and admire or to fear above all others. One thing was certain, she didn't want to find out the hard way just how powerful he really was.

"Impossible, I've had people watching her for almost a year now. If there were something wrong with her I'd know."

"Well, I must admit, insanity would certainly be fitting with her looks."

"HOW DARE YOU! I look great! I - err, oh shit…" _'Uh-oh, busted.'_

"Well, well, well, it appears that our guest of honor has been faking. Tsk, tsk, not a smart move. Good job, Severus."

"Thank you, sir." The man stared down at her with a blank expression for a second longer, then resumed his original place. It felt as though he were scrutinizing her for an eternity with his piercing gaze. She shuddered from fear, but something else as well, something inexplicable.

"Now you give me the troublesome task of coming up with a fitting punishment for you. What do you think you deserve?" He turned to her.

"Erm…" Anything she said would probably just make him angrier. She knew from things her mother had mentioned that her grandfather had an exceptionally short fuse.

"Answer me, girl!" he shouted.

"I don't know, sir." She hoped, prayed even, to any deity that would listen, that he would go slightly easier if she addressed him with respect.

"Well, fortunately for you, I do, or perhaps not so fortunate." he glared at her with a torturous smirk. "You will become a slave to one of my followers. The only question is, which one? Well? Who thinks they can handle the little twerp?" A short, pudgy man with a beak-like nose, buck teeth, and beady eyes stepped forward.

"I would be honored to take her. Oh yes, she would be a lovely addition to my home." He reached a greedy hand toward her. She backed away quickly, knowing he would probably follow.

"Not so fast, Wormtail." It was the man who had spoken earlier. "First of all, you are residing in MY home so how do you know I would even allow her to enter it? Second of all, as has been clearly stated bye the Dark Lord, she is the Queen. As such, she could overpower you in an instant and destroy you. If anyone is going to own her, it needs to be someone with powers that actually compare to her own."

"And who exactly do you suggest, Severus?" The "s" still hissed through the room after the Dark Lord had finished speaking.

"Myself, perhaps?"

The older man seemed to consider this for a moment until one of the other men spoke up. "My lord, surely you cannot be considering Snape for this. Granted, he is a semi-powerful wizard, but to control the Queen, you need someone with extraordinary powers. And I for one would be honored to take on the role."

"I'd go with Snape," the girl piped up. Although she was the topic at hand, everyone seemed to forget she was in the room.

"There you have it," said Snape. "She chose me."

"What are you talking about? The Dark Lord said punishment. It wouldn't do to allow her to choose who owns her."

"Oh no? Do you recall what happened to the last slave you had? She was dead within a week. As previously mentioned, she needs to stay alive in order to assist us, that is, so long as you are still a loyal follower?"

"How dare you?! I have always remained a loyal follower, even when you were in you comfy position as Potions Master at Hogwarts, even whe-" he was cut off by Snape.

"You mean the same time you were in your comfy position at the Ministry?"

"At least-"

"ENOUGH!" the old man exclaimed. "If you two can't act like grown men, I will have you escorted for the room like the children you insist on acting like. Now, the fact of the matter remains that I need someone to keep an eye on her ad make sure she stays out of trouble. And someone who can act appropriately in public," he directed a pointed glare the short, fat man.

"The rest of the time you can treat her however you wish. Treat her like a slave if you like, it matters not. Severus, congratulations, you've just received the honor of this task. Oh don't give me that look, Lucius. We need her _alive_ now, don't we?"

"And what makes you think I'll go along with all this?" the girl questioned.

"The answer is simple. If you don't, you die. Any questions?"

"No," she gulped. Although she didn't necessarily fear death and knew it was an inevitable part of life, she didn't particularly want to die.

"Good then, meeting dismissed. Oh, and Severus."

"Yes?"

"Make sure she's safe from Wormtail."

"Yes, my lord." He then turned to the girl. "Well, are you coming? Or do you plan to stay in this dungeon all night?" he didn't wait for a response, but turned and stalked out the door. She quickly followed. Despite the fact that she knew nothing about the man named Severus Snape, that didn't mean that she wouldn't choose him over a most unpleasant death.

He never turned back to see if she was following or not, but knew she was. _After all, who would want to remain in a sound proof room with the Dark Lord any longer than absolutely necessary?_

When they reached the doors that led to the cold night, they stepped outside and he wrapped his arms around her waist. As second later, she felt a tug behind her navel and heard a pop. When the tugging stopped, and the world quit spinning, she would have fallen to her knees if her weren't holding her.

"I think I'm goon be sick," she whimpered, instinctively bringing her hand to her mouth.

"You'll get used to it. Can you stand?" She simply nodded. "Good. Come." Again he walked away leaving her to follow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, the plot, or the characters JKR created. I am simply borrowing them for use in this story. The only things I own are Miranda, and the changes in plot.**

**Thank you to everyone that read and reviewed this story so far. I love the feedback. You will find out a little bit more about Miranda in both this chapter and the next one.**

They had been walking down a street lined with dilapidated houses. She was sure at one point they had been homes, but the elements had not been kind. The area reeked of industrial mills and the amount of waste in the river confirmed it. A street sign, or rather what was left of it, stated that this was Spinners End.

'_Interesting name for a street.'_

She cleared her throat, to which he responded with a grunt. "I was just wondering what I should call you. I mean, I can't very well call you 'Master' in front of others."

"No, I don't suppose you can. I believe it would be acceptable if you called me Severus, both in public and alone." 'Well at least he won't try to degrade me that way,' she thought hopefully. "I can't very well go around calling you 'girl' either."

"Oh! Right, well, my name is Miranda but most people call me Mindy or Manny." He nodded.

"Manny is an interesting nickname," he commented.

"Yeah, my grandmother on my mother's side called me that. She was a really great woman." She seemed to think for a moment. "What do I call you in front of my grandfather?"

"Severus. He may assume that we are an 'item', but I highly doubt he will say anything. He did say I could treat you however I wish."

The mention of 'assume' forced Miranda to recite her favorite bit of wisdom. "When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me." At his silence, she was frightened she should not have spoken, but when she looked at him, he was smirking and there was laughter in his eyes.

"Indeed, it does." He was still smirking when he turned up a walkway, pulled out a wand, and began casting spells on one of the houses. When finished, he said, "I've set the wards to recognize you as well. You may now enter my house freely." She noted that he used the term 'house', not 'home' to describe the building. At her extended silence, he added, "I'm sure it's not what you're used to, but not everyone has unlimited funds."

"What? Oh no! It's not that, actually the house I grew up in was just your average home. I'm sure it's not that bad. In fact it's got personality and looks rather cozy." He simply raised an eyebrow and opened the door.

"Welcome to the place I was raised."

Aside from a thick layer of dust, everything looked like a somewhat normal home. _'He was raised here?'_ thought Miranda. _'Is that why he doesn't truly call it home?'_ "Well, it's definitely got personality," she stated aloud.

"Indeed? I was unaware that 'personality' was a term for 'dust'." He seemed to be smirking again, so she smiled.

"So where's my room?" she asked. "It's been a pretty tiring _middle of the night_."

"Oh, actually this is only a three bedroom house and I have some rather important potions in there," he indicated a door in the far corner of the room. "And of course, Wormtail is in the other." He seemed rather uneasy as he thought.

"Okay, so I'll crash on the couch. No biggy."

"And allow him a chance to catch you unaware and vulnerable? I think not, especially considering what would happen to me and my arse if you were."

"So….?" Now she also appeared uneasy.

"So you will be sleeping in my room with me. Not to worry, however, it's a king size mattress and I hardly ever use the whole mattress, so you will be safe."

Ten minutes later found Miranda and Severus sleeping on their respective side of his bed and Miranda was already asleep. _'Maybe it won't be so bad having a houseguest,'_ he thought. _' Other than Wormtail, of course. This girl is pretty. It could almost make up for having him here. _With this final thought, Severus fell into the first peaceful sleep he had had in years.

Although Severus had a peaceful sleep, Miranda was a different story:

_Miranda was walking through one of her smaller houses, one that lacked security guards. No one was supposed to know that it existed, let alone the location. Miranda was only staying there for a few days, leaving tomorrow, in fact. It was her first vacation of the year._

_She had to walk outside to check her car and make sure it was ready for the drive home tomorrow. Suddenly she was grabbed from behind. The man spun her around and glared down at her. His eyes were gold and seemed to glow at an unnatural level. He was easily six and a half feet tall and his breath reeked of something she couldn't quite place. He didn't appear to be excessively old, but his hair had hints of gray in it already._

"_If he had mentioned you looked like this I would have come for you sooner. Perhaps after your purpose has been fulfilled the Dark Lord will hand you over to me." He spoke with a French accent and as his lips curled up in a sneer, she could see sharp yellow canines. She had only seen teeth like these years ago when she was also uncomfortably close to a werewolf. The only difference was, this time there was not a knight in shining armor to rescue her._

"_Let me go," she demanded._

"_Hmm, let me think about that. No," he taunted her. He grabbed her almost painfully and they disappeared with a 'pop'. Before the nausea had worn off, she was dragged along a corridor and they came to a stop before a man in a cloak and silver mask. "Let me through," demanded the werewolf._

"_I'm afraid I can't do that," the man responded in a deep baritone. "The Dark Lord only wants his most qualified Death Eaters in the meeting tonight. That does not include you."_

_He seemed to consider this for a moment. "Fine, not like she's good for much anyway." He shoved her toward the man and she almost fell. The cloaked man pulled her through the door and she looked up to see the face of her grandfather._

"_Surprised?"_

Miranda awoke to a heavy arm draped across her waist. The events of the past twelve hours came rushing back to her. Unable to fall back asleep for fear of more nightmares, she got up and walked downstairs to the kitchen to make breakfast. If she was supposed to act like a 'slave', she may as well get used to it. Severus had a muggle coffee maker and stove. Fortunately, Miranda at least knew how to cook basic breakfast meals so she made eggs, toast, bacon, and coffee.

Minutes after she finished cooking, Severus walked into the kitchen. At his inclined eyebrow she said, "I made breakfast."

"Indeed." He sat down to the plate she had set for him. She remained standing. "Come sit," he said, pulling out a chair next to him. As she sat he said, "Eat."

"You know I can handle more than one syllable words." He glared at her momentarily before turning back to his meal.

"We need to attend an order meeting today."

"Order of what?" she asked, before taking a bite of toast.

"The Order of the Phoenix. It was formed by Albus Dumbledore to fight your grandfather."

"Oh, I see," she replied. "What time do we have to leave?"

"In three hours. I had some of you clothes brought here."

"You broke into my house?!" she shouted, completely outraged.

"Of course not. Your butler brought them over."

"He's in on this?" she asked in disbelief.

"He's one of the people that was installed to keep an eye on you. Now, keep your voice down. It's too early in the morning for you to shout at me."

"Humph," she said and walked out of the room.

'_Women,'_ thought Snape.

Miranda returned fifteen minutes later in a t-shirt that had the English flag on it, a pair of jeans, and blue and white Etnies. She looked significantly calmer.

Severus took this chance to really look at her. She had wavy brown hair to fell past her shoulders, brown eyes, and a slightly turned up nose. She appeared to be about 5'6" and had a curvy, but slim figure.

"There's nothing wrong with my outfit, is there?" she asked, fidgeting under his gaze.

"No, you look… great." He cleared his throat nervously. "Well, shall we? There are a few things we need to discuss before the meeting." He stood and led her out of the house, down the street, and to an alley where she again felt the uncomfortable tug of apparition.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything else created by JK Rowling.**

**This chapter is slightly shorter and less... thrilling than others, but it is very important to understand what is going on. It has information on Miranda's parentage.**

**Again, thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing.**

Severus and Miranda ended up in Muggle London and entered a small café. There weren't any other customers so they ordered coffee and sat in the back.

"So what do we have to talk about?" Miranda asked.

"Not exactly subtle, hmm?" At this, Miranda blushed. "Well, I suppose the first thing I should do is make sure you won't tell anyone what I am about to disclose to you."

Miranda took a wizard's oath that she would not repeat a word of it. "Good," said Severus. "Now, one thing you need to know is that I am a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. I became a Death Eater when I was only a teenager. Now, it is one of the biggest regrets of my life."

"Why do you regret it?"

"Because the Dark Lord murdered someone that I cared about very much," he replied with a scowl.

"You must have really loved her," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"How do you know it was a 'her'?" he asked.

"Well, only someone that you loved on a romantic level could give you that look in your eye when you think of them, and I hope you're not gay because that would be a loss for women everywhere so I'm thinking it was a her, but if I'm wrong don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

"No, you're right. I'm just surprised by how intuitive you are. There aren't many people your age that know so much about life." He appeared to be having an internal conflict with himself. Finally, he added, "Her name was Lily by the way. Lily Evans." The last two words were whispered so quietly, Miranda had to strain her ears to hear it.

Miranda nodded, then decided to change the subject for Severus' sake. "So you're a spy?" It was the first thing that popped into her mind. "That sounds really dangerous, especially considering who you are spying on."

"Yes, I suppose it is. I have to be extremely careful, even more so now that Wormtail is living in my house, which is why I brought you here to talk. I feel I must warn you though. Don't put your complete trust in Albus Dumbledore."

"Why not?"

"While he has everyone's best interests at heart, he sometimes puts others in danger. He is a person that believes in many cases that the 'ends justify the means to get there'."

"Oh, I see," she said, biting her bottom lip.

Severus glanced at a clock on the wall. "We still have another hour." He stared at her for a moment. "Which of your parents is the Darks Lord's child?"

Miranda looked only slightly uncomfortable. She had learned long ago that if people knew she was Voldemort's granddaughter, they would either interrogate her about it or do the only other logical thing and run away screaming. At least when people chose the latter she didn't need to worry about them attempting to burn her at the stake, sometimes literally.

"My father," she answered calmly. "My grandfather once had a fiancé. Can you believe it? Anyway, that was just after he became power-hungry. She panicked, begged him to stop, and when he refused, she went into hiding. Two months later, she found out she was pregnant. He only found out ten years later. She died in a supposed accident. Of course, nothing could be proven, but she had told her sister whose child it was and, well, Voldemort found out. He never attempted to find his child, just sent money to enroll him in school, and never contacted him again."

"And your mother?"

"She was a year younger than my father. They met when she started attending Hogwarts. Her childhood was pretty much your typical, everyday, suburban life. I haven't seen my father since I was eleven. My parents got a divorce and she was granted full custody."

Severus looked somewhat confused. "I was unaware that marriages in the wizarding world allowed for divorce."

"They weren't in the wizarding world. They were living as muggles. We were just your average upper-middle class family until my father started getting to stressed. He would have anger spells that would last for days. Finally they realized that they just weren't meant to be together anymore and gave up on trying to make it work."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said with a grimace. He seemed completely clueless as to how to comfort her. Fortunately, he didn't have to.

"Don't be. It worked out for the best in the end. Besides, it gave me a lot of wisdom and knowledge. I never had to look up a single term in my psychology class," she added with a grin.

He returned a smirk and said, " We better be going. The other Order members will want to meet you."

**Next chapter is in the Order Headquarters.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter or Severus Snape, no matter how much I wish I did.**

**I probably should have mentioned this before. This story takes place during Harry's fifth year on up. Severus had a weekend off and that's why he was able to show her his house. I know Wormtail first moved in during the sixth book, but for the purpose of the story, that already happened.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing.**

It was a short trip to the Order headquarters as they were already in London. Although she had seen many extreme events as the result of magic, it still amazed her when an entire house appeared between two others.

"They will probably ask you to take an oath not to tell any other Death Eaters of this location," Severus informed her as they walked to the door.

"That's okay. I'd think they were insane if they didn't. I just hope they won't throw me out once they know who I am." She laughed nervously, then frowned as she realized that might be fully possible considering the intense emotional and physical pain her grandfather had caused.

"Don't worry about that now," he said. He looked at her with empathy in his eyes, knowing what it was like to be bullied all too well. "Once they talk to you, they'll realize you're the exact opposite of the Dark Lord."

This seemed to calm her because she gave him a look of gratitude. They entered the building and walked down a hallway to what must have been one of the largest dining rooms Miranda had ever witnessed. The room's many occupants continued talking until they realized Severus had another person along with him. Then silence engulfed the room.

Miranda was unable to do anything other than stand there. Moments later, although it seemed like hours, a man with a white beard and long white hair came up to them. "Severus, my boy, it appears you brought along a friend. Why don't you introduce her?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"Yes, of course, this is Miranda Riddle."

'_My name,'_ she thought. _'They'll recognize the last name. I never even had a chance to be accepted. Why?! It was such a good day! Now every good part's gone down the toilet!'_ She felt like bursting into tears.

"So that's why she's with Snivellus!" exclaimed a man with curly shoulder-length hair. At this, a single tear escaped her eye.

"Come on Sirius, it could be a coincidence," said a man with short brown hair, a lightly scarred face, and light brown eyes.

"It's not," she whispered, her heart clenching. She could lie to them, but what difference would it make? They would still find out, and the lie would only make it worse.

The old man with the twinkle in his eye said, "My dear, names do not define us. I, myself, have an extremely long name, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore." Miranda, who had been concentrating on the floor and keeping her tears at bay, glanced up with a small smile on her face.

"I'm not evil," she said. "I'm really not. I've never hurt anyone in my life. Well, I did once, but they were trying to hurt someone else that was completely defenseless."

Forty-five minutes later, Miranda was on speaking terms with everyone in the room. That even included Sirius Black, who after finding out she wasn't there to send any Order members to an early grave, questioned her sanity for staying with Severus. The conversation went like this:

"_So is he holding you against your will or are you just insane?"_

"_No…" she said. "I happen to actually like it there."_

"_You do realize that if you stay here you can have your own room, right? That is, unless you'd like a gorgeous bloke to keep you company," he said, suggestively placing his hand on her thigh._

_She pretended to consider it for a moment. "You know, that sounds great!" He got a hopeful twinkle in his eye. "When you find one let me know," she smiled, gave herself a mental high five and went back to a conversation with Arthur Weasley. It seemed no one ever informed him what a rubber duck was for._

Dumbledore cleared his throat and immediately, everyone stopped talking. "As much as I have enjoyed meeting Miranda, it is not the only reason we are here. I called this meeting because Harry Potter has been having dreams as a connection to Voldemort. It seems he is becoming more active."

After that, the meeting continued for almost an hour. As it ended, and Miranda was preparing to leave, Dumbledore came up to her. "I was wondering if I might have a word?"

She smile up at him and replied, "Sure." He led her to what appeared to be a study down the hall and asked her to sit. He sat down behind the desk.

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable, however, I feel I must ask you why Voldemort placed you with Severus. Even though you are his granddaughter, the relations of people have never stopped him before." He still had that perpetual twinkle in his eye, and it was beginning to drive her insane.

"Well, technically, he didn't 'place me with Severus'. I'm actually supposed to be a sort of slave. I suppose her did it because I wouldn't join him."

Dumbledore appeared pensive for a moment. "Normally when a person declines joining his ranks, he will kill or torture them. Do you have any idea why this did not happen?"

"Umm, well, you see, I'm the Queen." She couldn't help but stutter. Severus' warning haunted her and she didn't want her power used for the wrong reasons.

"If you don't mind my asking, what exactly are you the Queen of?" He seemed to fear the answer.

"The Underworld," she said quietly.

"I see, and you've been in this position how long?"

"Roughly two years. But it's not what you think. I never asked for my powers. I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. When I was sixteen, I went on a road trip with a friend of mine. I had lived as a muggle my entire life and had a license and my own car. We were staying in a hotel in Colorado and I couldn't sleep so I decided to go for a walk. There was no way to know that there were people performing a ritual in an abandoned lot.

"Long story short, I got hit with the spell and gained the title as the Queen. It's not like I'm abusing my powers or anything though. Quite the opposite actually. Since that night, there have been fewer attacks on people and there is a stronger, more peaceful relationship between the other kingdoms."

Dumbledore, who had been listening with great interest, said, "Yes, it does seem as though attacks from your… loyal subjects have decreased in recent months. Well, then, keep up the good work."

Miranda rose to leave. "Oh, one more thing," stated Dumbledore. She sat back down. "I presume you will be returning to Hogwarts with Severus?" She hadn't really thought about it. However, where else would she go?

"I hadn't really asked him about it, but yes, I suppose I will, if that's not a problem?"

"No, of course not. I'll simply have an extra room added to his quarters." There was a knock at the door. "Come in."

"I apologize, Headmaster, for interrupting," said Severus, stepping into the room.

"Not to worry, we were done talking. It was a pleasure to meet you, Miranda," he said, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips.

"It was nice meeting you too," she smiled. "Thank you for being so kind."

She and Severus left in silence, although, he did slip and arm around her waist as they walked down the street.

**Sorry to anyone that loves Sirius out there, but it's nearly impossible to have Sirius and Severus be nice to each other without making them out of character.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR, not me. ****Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing.**

When they arrived back at Severus' house, he suggested that she go pack. He sat down in an old armchair, planning to read the _Daily Prophet_, but the more he concentrated on the words, the more Miranda's face appeared in his mind.

'_This is ridiculous,' _he thought. _'I'm acting like a schoolboy with a crush.' _After another attempt at focusing on what he was reading, he thought, _'Maybe I should go see if she needs help packing.'_

He entered the room silently and leaned against the door frame, watching her for a moment. Her every movement seemed graceful, every flip of her hair beautiful.

"Do you need any help?" he asked, earning a scream from Miranda. She instantly prepared to escape an attack.

"Severus! Don't sneak up on me like that." She tried to glare at him but just ended up laughing.

"Do you need any help packing?" he asked again.

"Sure, I could use some help. Just be really careful not to drop anything that's electronic."

"You do realize that there aren't any outlets in Hogwarts, right? These… items will be obsolete." He looked at the laptop and appeared to be trying to turn it on with his mind.

Miranda giggled and pressed a button on the side. "I thought you were half-Muggle."

"I am, but in the seventies and eighties, there weren't many of these around. What is this called?" The mention of these earlier decades reminded him just how much of an age difference there was between Miranda and himself.

"It's a laptop. And as for not having power, I invented a spell that will charge anything with a battery. It took about eight months, but it's a real life saver, because this is the only way to contact everyone."

Severus kept being amazed by this girl. Rather than acting smug about having created something this important, she was blushing and acting as thought she didn't want credit for it. Modesty was not something he expected from the Dark Lord's granddaughter. _'Perhaps she was adopted,'_ he thought.

"Nope, sorry, I've checked, I'm not adopted," she told him and he realized he'd said that out loud.

"Can you hand me that silver case?" she asked.

"What's in it?" he inquired, picking it up.

"Oh, you know, just some, umm, work things," she said, shifting her eyes away. At her answer he raised a disbelieving brow, but handed her the case anyway. He considered using Legilimency, however, decided that would not be the best way to retain her trust. And if she told her grandfather, he feared he might react badly. _'Of course, if she doesn't want to tell me, she probably won't tell him either,'_ he thought. No, it would be better to play it safe.

It only took another half hour to pack. Afterward, Severus took her out to a late lunch at a small, but classy restaurant in Hogsmeade, after taking her luggage to his quarters at Hogwarts. It seemed she had been to very few wizarding restaurants, an unfortunate side effect of growing up in the Muggle world.

"So, is this just a secret, Severus Snape way of getting me on a date?" she joked.

"No!" he answered, a bit too harshly.

"Okay," she said sounding disappointed. "I was just kidding."

They sat in an awkward silence until the food came. The wine Severus picked loosened their spirit's a little more and allowed them to talk to each other comfortably.

"So you teach at Hogwarts?" she asked.

"Yes, I teach potions."

"Somehow I can't really see you as a teacher." She pictured it in her mind and giggled at the image.

"Well, I can't seem to envision you controlling hundreds, maybe thousands of minions."

"They're not minions, they're just souls that had some… unfortunate guidance in their lives."

"They were minions. Before you took over they were wreaking havoc on the innocent." Yes, he remembered those days. He felt he should be getting her a 'thank you' gift or at least a card for righting that wrong.

"One could say the same about Death Eaters." Severus smirked when she said this. He had been testing her. "What was the point of all that?" she inquired.

"Battle of wits," he informed her. "I had to ensure we would not get… bored. After all, we will be spending a lot of time together." He placed his hand over hers on the table.

"Right," she said in a tone that screamed 'I don't believe you.'

He smirked again and said, "Well, we better go back to the castle. I have some papers to correct and we should figure out what you are going to do tomorrow. Sitting around in my rooms for six hours doing absolutely nothing would likely drive you mad."

She thought for a moment, then got a very Dumbledore-ish look in her eyes. "I've got it! I can help you teach." By the word 'teach' she was positively beaming. It was impossible to deny her.

'_Oh Merlin, I'm falling for her,'_ he panicked in his mind. All he could think about was how badly he wanted to kiss her. However, his face betrayed none of these thoughts, and he said, "I think that would be acceptable. You probably couldn't teach the actual class, but you could keep an eye on the dunderheads and correct papers." She smiled again, and he had to force his own lips not to copy her movements.

He stood to leave and placed some silver coins on the table. Severus paid the bill and they walked arm in arm back to the castle.

"I really wish you had left me pay," she said as they walked.

"Nonsense," he smirked. "What kind of gentleman would I be if I left you pay for dinner on our first date?" This statement only made her smile wider. As the coupld passed other people on the street, they had to glance twice to make sure it was really Severus Snape walking with a smile on his face. However, this was not what forced them to openly stare. Some had seen him smile before after a 'dunderhead'. He was walking with a young woman that was also smiling.

"Why are so many people staring?" she asked, feeling odd about having this much attention from someone other than her subjects, for lack of better term.

"They can't believe the dungeon bat has someone that is willingly spending time with him. Well, perhaps not entirely willingly, but you're the first person in my presence not to cower in fear."

"There's no place I'd rather be," she said simply, giving his arm a squeeze.

While they were occupied talking to each other, neither noticed a pair of greedy eyes watching them. Oh yes, this could work very well with his plan.

**Ooh, what's in the silver case and who's this mystery man that's spying on the new, happy couple. Keep reading to find out. And please, pretty please, review. 'Kay?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Surprise! I still don't own Harry Potter.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. Seriously, please review. **

Back at the castle, Severus showed Miranda his way of correcting students' assignments. She caught on surprisingly quickly although, she did think some of his grading policies were just a little harsh.

'_Oh well,' _she thought. _'At least these kids are learning what they should. Some of these things look pretty advanced for thirteen year olds.'_ At this point, she was correcting third year essays. As she stretched she had to stifle a yawn. Severus' years as a spy had made his hearing sharp enough to catch even the tiniest of noises. The clock on the desk in front of him displayed 10:30 pm.

"You can go to bed if you wish, we've been working for hours."

"Okay," she said, yawning again as she stood. "Aren't you going to sleep?" she questioned when he went back to work on his lesson plans.

"Yes, I just have one more thing to add."

"Oh, well then, good night. Sleep well." He retuned the 'good night' farewell and kept working. After spending the past 24 hours in Severus' company, Miranda felt a bit strange being by herself. However, after another yawn, she realized she was too tired to really care.

Miranda woke up earlier than she normally would and realized the room was freezing. _'So this is what it's like to sleep in a dungeon,'_ she thought. At least it was better and more comfortable than the other dungeon she had entered in the past two days.

She got up and began getting ready for the day. What was she expected to wear? Surely she had something that would be acceptable to teach in. She opened up the small walk-in closet in her room. Practically everything was muggle clothing. She settled for a dark green sweater and a black knee-length skirt.

'_Well, at least I tried,'_ she thought, slipping on a pair of black leather ankle boots. After a quick glance in the mirror, Miranda marched out of the room and almost collided with Severus.

"Is that what you're wearing to classes today?" he questioned with an incredulous look. Unluckily for him, Severus had no idea this was a question that should never be directed at a woman.

"Yes this is what I'm wearing. Why? What's wrong with it?" Miranda looked at him with a scowl that could rival one of his own.

He realized his mistake. "I didn't mean anything by it. You just need a robe. The students aren't accustomed to seeing teachers or their assistants without a robe over their traditional attire." Severus walked into his bedroom and returned a moment later with one of his robes, transfigured to fit Miranda. He draped it across her shoulders and fastened it.

"It's not perfect, but it's the best we can do on such short notice." He averted his eyes as if he was ashamed. Miranda didn't see him thought because at the moment she was spinning around and walking back and forth in her new robe.

"Oh, I absolutely love it!" she exclaimed.

"Indeed?" he questioned, his eyes getting a hopeful gleam.

"Yes, it billows when I walk!" She threw her arms around him. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist.

When they broke apart he asked, "Are you hungry?"

"A little," she answered. "I could use some coffee. I don't suppose there's a Starbucks in Hogsmeade?"

"I'm afraid not. Come along. We'll go to breakfast." As they exited the room, Severus again warded the door to his quarters. Due to the early time, there weren't any students in the Great Hall, just a couple of teachers.

"Ah there they are," said Dumbledore, eyes still twinkling. "Allow me to introduce you to Professors Sprout, Sinistra, and of course, you already know Minerva."

Miranda smiled at Sprout and Sinistra. "You poor dear," said Sprout. "You must have had a very difficult childhood growing up with You-Know-Who as your grandfather."

"It wasn't so bad really. I never saw him, except once and I was in the muggle world so no one really knew what the name Riddle entailed. The part I really missed was not being able to attend a magical school like Hogwarts. I was always considered kind of an oddball amongst my friends."

"You do know how to perform magic thought, right?" inquired Sinistra.

"Yes. My parents taught me basic spells and I learned more advanced things when I became Queen two years ago." No more was said on the matter. The other staff members warned her about Delores Umbridge A.K.A. 'the Evil Cat Lady'.

"Evil Cat Lady," Miranda repeated between fits of giggles. "That's priceless." She composed herself, wiped the tears from her eyes and waited for the rest of Hogwarts' faculty and students to enter. Moments later, the Evil Cat Lady herself walked in.

'_Oh dear Lord, she's wearing pink,'_ thought Miranda. She couldn't help but thing Umbridge looked dangerously close to a giant bottle of Pepto-Bismol. The image made her want to laugh again.

Seeing she was about the burst, Severus suggested they go to his classroom to prepare for the day. As soon as the door to the Potions classroom closed, Miranda collapsed onto a chair and began laughing. "Can't…breathe," she panted, catching her breath.

"What made you laugh like that?" he asked sitting in a chair next to her.

"I pictured Umbridge dressed as a giant bottle of Pepto-Bismol." This time Severus began laughing as well. He immediately stopped when he realized Miranda was staring at him with a soft smile on her face. "You should laugh more often. It brightens your face."

"Indeed?" She nodded enthusiastically. "I'll take that into consideration. Of course, some students might believe they have gone insane. Seeing the greasy Potions Master with a smile plastered on his face will send them running for the hills."

"What are you doing?" he asked. She had her hand in his hair.

"Testing a hypothesis. You said your hair is greasy so I'm testing that theory."

"And?"

"And it's not greasy, just fine and shiny." She patted his head once more and walked over to his desk, arranging papers by grade level.

Several moments after they finished getting ready for class, the fifth year students walked in. More than a few of the students openly stared at her as the walked in. Even some of the Slytherins were a bit obvious in their attempt to figure out who she was. Severus mentally groaned and thought, _'Dunderheads.'_

"Alright, before any of your eyes bulge out of your thick little heads, this is Miranda Riddle. Yes, the last name is the same as You-Know-Who, yes she is his granddaughter, yes she is the Queen of the Underworld, and I think that about covers it."

"Gee, Severus, did you have to be so blunt? Where's some of that Slytherin subtlety? Anyway, are there any questions?"

A boy with flaming red hair raised his hand. "Does Dumbledore know you're here?" he asked.

"Does he know you're here?" she countered.

"Of course he knows I'm here. That wasn't the question."

"Well, he knows I'm here, too. And he knows who I am and everything else people would need to know." She actually saw what made Severus call them dunderheads. She walked back to her chair.

"What was that about subtlety?" asked Severus as she passed.

The rest of the day went uneventfully until 3:30 when Miranda received an owl that said there was a major conflict between her kingdom and another one. Severus agreed to let her go alone as it should only take an hour or two to come to an agreeable solution. After she left, he was utterly bored.

It was then that he remembered the box. _'No, I couldn't betray her trust like that,'_ he thought. _'But she would probably never find out.'_ After some more debate over his morals, he gave in to his curiosity and walked to her room. After a bit of searching, he found the silver case hidden under the bed. He paused when he was about to open the box, but he had gotten this far, why turn back? After several failed attempts, he got it open and found… exactly what he expected.

**Ooh cliffy. So what do you think was in the box and do you think it was really as simple as it appeared?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Alas, I don't own anything created by JKR. Thanks to everyone that read and reviewed. I decided to make this chapter a little longer as a thank you.**

When Severus opened the box, he found EXACTLY what he expected to find. It was a nine millimeter handgun. The fact that it was what he thought he would find was what bothered him. He presumed that it would be some kind of weapon. However if it was truly just this gun, why was she so jumpy when he handed the case to her.

He didn't know what caused him to pick up the gun for further inspection. Spy's intuition? Whatever made him do it, when he picked up the weapon, he realized what Miranda didn't want him to see. The plastic holder the gun was sitting on came out with it. Underneath, there were dozens of newspaper clippings from various muggle papers.

One was of a birth announcement of Miranda Jones. _'Her parents might have changed their name,' _he thought. The next clipping skipped sixteen years ahead. The headline proclaimed, _**'Sixteen year old Miranda Jones Missing.'**_ Another seemed to be a panel from a milk carton asking, "Have you seen me?" It had a picture of Miranda Jones, but really it was Miranda Riddle. The only difference was the nose and the eyes appeared to be different colors.

Among the clippings was an interview with Miranda's mother. She asked that if anyone knew anything about her disappearance, they should contact her or the police. Then he came across something truly shocking. There was an obituary for Miranda Jones. As he read this, it stated that her parents were still married and had two other children that were both a couple years older than Miranda.

It said she had died in a fatal car crash. The remains were almost too charred to recognize. It was as he was reading this, that he never heard the door to the quarters open, or the footsteps coming down the hall, not even the door to the room he was in being pushed open.

What he did hear was the shrieked, "What are you doing?" Needless to say, he was shocked, so shocked that he threw the papers across the bed.

"I…erm…well, you see," Severus had become incapable of forming real sentences.

"Yes, I do see," Miranda stated in a deadly calm voice. "I left for five minutes and you decided to go through my stuff."

"What happened when you were sixteen?" asked Severus as his wits came back to him.

"Nothing. It's not important. Just don't tell anyone. They wouldn't understand why I did it." She bit her bottom lip to stop it from quivering.

"Why you did what?" he asked with apprehension. _'Do I even want to know?'_ he asked himself.

"Why I ran away," she said quietly.

"Oh, is that all?"

"What?" she asked. "What do you mean is that all? Running away can put a kid behind bars."

"It's not that I think it's a good thing you ran away. I'm just relieved. For a minute there, I thought you killed someone." He considered this for a moment. "You didn't, did you?"

"No! Of course not!" She wasn't really capable of murder. There was only one person in her family that was sick and twisted enough to do that and his name started with a V and ended in and -oldemort.

"But the obituary said their was a body in the car," he said.

"Oh that," she laughed nervously. "Well, some muggle scientists figured out how to make clones and that was a perfect example of one."

"A clone?"

"Yes, it's a being made from an exact copy of a person's DNA."

"I know what a clone is, I was just unaware that they were making human clones now."

"Oh. Well, with the right amount of money you can do anything."

"But why did you run away in the first place? Your childhood couldn't have been that bad." Could it? Severus had always thought that no one could possibly have as horrible a childhood as he did. But what if Miranda was just as unfortunate as he had been?

"I don't want to talk about it. The important this is no one was hurt so let's just let it go, okay?"

"I can't do that," he said.

"And why dot?" she asked. She was sniffling and some of her words were becoming slurred.

"Because, we're supposed to be friends and you seem like if you talk about it, you might feel better. Besides, aren't women supposed to love to talk?"

He had meant for it to be a joke and it seemed to work because she smiled at him. "Fine," she said grudgingly. "First off, my life was never really puppies and clouds and every other perfect thing that the perfect American family is supposed to be. My family had money but we weren't excessively rich.

"When my parents would get angry they would yell at their kids. They never hit us, just yelled at us for anything they could come up with at the moment. My parents never got divorced. I wish they had. Then I would have only had to handle one yeller at a time. But anyway, when I turned sixteen they decided to go on vacation. While they were gone, I took all the money I had and a thousand dollars out of their safe. I guess they just assumed I was kidnapped. But the rest of the information is true concerning how I became the Queen." She did feel better after telling someone. After keeping all this inside for years, she had to tell somebody.

"And that's everything?" She nodded in response. "And the gun?" he asked, indicating the weapon lying on the bed.

"It's just to serve as a disguise for what the case really holds. I'm not even sure where the bullets are for it." It did make sense. In the past couple days, Severus had learned that Miranda was not the type of person to condone violence, mush less killing.

"So we're okay, then?" she asked, looking afraid as if he might hit her.

"Yes, why?"

"Good, because I'm taking you out to dinner as a 'thank you' for convincing me to tell you about what happened. I feel much better now." She walked to the door. "Oh, and a little tip. Get the filet mignon. When somebody else buys dinner, go nuts," she grinned. Severus couldn't help the smile that graced his own lips. "Aw, you did take my advice," and with that she exited.

When Miranda and Severus came back to the castle, they were both in a very good mood. That is, they were until they saw the Pepto-Bismol Lady standing in front of the door to their quarters.

"Ah, Miss Riddle," she said. "I'm Delores Umbridge. I'm afraid I didn't get a chance to meet you this morning. You left so quickly," she said, aiming a pointed glare at Severus.

"Yes, I'm so sorry about that," said Miranda in a voice so sweet, she herself felt the urge to vomit. Umbridge didn't seem to notice though, as she was writing something on a clipboard. "It's just that Severus and I had to prepare for class."

"Are you trained to teach?" she inquired. Apparently, her post was called 'High Inquisitor of Hogwarts.'

"No, but I'm not teaching, I'm just correcting a couple of papers."

"Might I suggest we sit down in my-" Severus was about to suggest classroom, but was cut off by Umbridge.

"Quarters?" she said instead. "Oh that sounds lovely. Thank you," and she waited for him to unlock the door.

"Tea?" he asked when they were seated in the sitting room.

"Yes that sounds lovely."

"Do you take cream or sugar?" he asked in a fake-polite voice. _'Or poison?'_ he added in his head. Oh, what he would give for a Weasley Wizard Wheeze to put in her tea right now.

"Cream is fine." She consulted her clipboard again. "So, Miranda, how long do you plan to stay in Hogwarts, in another professor's quarters? A male professor." Miranda almost began laughing again at the look of distaste on Umbridge's face. If she thought it was a disgrace to sleep in Severus' quarters, imagine what she would say if she told the woman that she had to sleep with Severus in his bed while they were at his house.

'_The old bird would probably faint,'_ she thought, and had half a mind to tell her. Instead she told her, "Well, I hadn't really considered that. I do have my own room. I'd show you, but I'm afraid my cat is just a tad hostile toward new people." The real reason she didn't want Umbridge in her room is because she hadn't picked up the papers.

"Oh, you have a kitty?" Umbridge squealed like a little girl. Although, Miranda couldn't seem to picture _her_ as a little girl. "What kind is it?"

"Err, it's an American Shorthair." She did own an American Shorthair, it just wasn't along with her.

"Well, perhaps another time I can meet him," said Umbridge.

"Actually, it's a girl cat." She shifted in her seat. "So what was it you wanted to know?"

"You were Voldemort's granddaughter while he was alive, correct?" At this point, Severus entered the room again.

"Yes, while he was alive, he was her grandfather," he stated.

"I was asking Miranda, but I suppose I can't ask again. Well, that's all I need to know. For now," she added when both Severus and Miranda looked relieved.

When the door was closed and locked behind her, Miranda said, "Oh thank God she left. That old hag really is annoying." Severus smirked when she flopped on the couch. He walked over to the couch and gave her a passionate kiss on the lips. She moaned into his mouth. The kiss left Miranda breathless. Severus smirked and stood up. "Good night," he purred and walked to his bedroom, leaving Miranda on the couch.

'_Tease,'_ she thought. _'Well, two can play at that game.'_ And, so she began plotting in her head, her next move of action.

**Okay, so they started their relationship. Do you like it or no? Also, Miranda will have to bring her kitty to Hogwarts if the Pepto-Bismol Lady comes back. Believe me American Shorthairs can be pretty mean. I have one that attacks me every time I try to pet her. So, maybe Umbridge will get scratched. Muahahaha.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Thanks to all my readers and reviewers. Can you believe it? Two chapters in one day. I might not be able to post tomorrow so I'm making up for it now.**

Severus Snape awoke with a genuine smile on his face. He had kissed the girl of his dreams and she hadn't pushed him away. In fact, she had responded well to the kiss. But then he realized something. She was the girl of his dreams, just like Lily had been. What if she was taken from him too? No, he vowed to himself that he would protect her life with his own. However, that "if" was still there. It was still there when he dressed in his teaching robes, and it was still there when he walked into the hallway.

He didn't even realize Miranda was there until she wrapped her arms around his neck and planted her lips on his. It was when he was taken by surprise that she slipped her tongue into his mouth and her tongue caressed his. When she pulled away she whispered, "Good morning."

"Good?" he asked. "This is the best morning I've had yet. Do you think you could greet me every morning?"

She giggled and gave him one more quick kiss on the lips. "Let's go to breakfast." She walked away in a lilac robe. They had stopped to buy some robes last night after dinner. She had pointedly asked that they billow when she walked. The shopkeeper had raised an eyebrow at this due to the person she was with, but continued to help her find the items anyway.

"Are you coming?" she called from the door. This pulled Severus out of the reverie he had entered as he watched her walk away.

In the Great Hall, several students looked as if they may faint. The dreaded Potions Master, the Great Bat of the Dungeons, the Greasy Git, was smiling. Smiling! The closest thing they had ever seen to a smile from Severus Snape was a smirk after he had almost made Neville Longbottom cry.

"Why are so many students staring at us?" whispered Miranda, leaning in close to Severus.

"They can't believe someone so beautiful is willing to sit next to me," he said, not really realizing he had called her beautiful until she kissed him, causing one synchronized gasp to flood the Hall.

"Ahem," they heard. Looking up, she saw Professor Pepto-Bismol standing there. "Whether or not you are aware, it is banned for a male and female to show…affection so publicly. That includes professors and their assistants." She seemed disgusted by the fact that she was even there, next to Severus.

Miranda cleared her throat. To see just how far she could push it she said, "Right, well, Severus I had fun last night. We'll pick this up later?" she nodded to herself and walked out of the Great Hall, laughing when she got to the main hallway.

Back in the Great Hall, Severus smirked at everyone, the majority of the school's population was still staring at him in disbelief. "Well? Don't you all have things to do?" he barked, causing everyone to turn away in fear. _'I've still got it,'_ he thought to himself.

When he got to the classroom Miranda was correcting essays. "That was some show," he said walking over to her.

"I know, right? Too bad I didn't have a camcorder set up." She smiled and went back to the paper she was correcting. It said 'Hermone Granger' at the top.

'_Ah, yes the know-it-all,'_ he thought. "So what was that about picking it up later?" he breathed into her ear. Normally he would not have been so forward, due to fear of rejection, but this girl was bringing out sides of him that not many people had ever seen before.

She shivered at the contact. "Sev, I hardly think this is the place to do that. Students could walk in at any moment. It might not be a good idea to give them another sight that could put strain on their heart."

Severus chuckled as he recalled the horrorstruck faces of the students this morning. "Indeed. We will pick this up later though, correct?"

"Oh, most definitely." She pinched his butt as he walked away. He quickly spun around, but she was looking back at her paper and acting as if nothing had happened. She looked up and said, "Is there anything else, love?"

"Love?" he inquired.

"Well, Severus is such a long name, so I'm coming up with nicknames for you. Sev is my favorite so far."

"Just don't call me Sevvie-Wevvie and you can call me anything you wish."

"Sevvie-Wevvie?" she giggled.

"Don't ask," he growled. In truth, he had a neighbor as a child that would call him Sevvie-Wevvie and pinch his cheek. (face, not the other kind)

Within seconds, students began walking in, looking as if they were expecting to see Nearly Headless Nick without his head. "Is it safe?" some asked their friends. Miranda rolled her eyes at the insanity the students were showing. Did they really expect that he should be celibate for the rest of his life? _'Dunderheads,' _she thought and giggled.

Ronald Weasley, who was prepared to run at the slightest sign of danger, literally fell out of his chair. "Bloody hell, that hurt," he groaned as he got up.

"Weasley, ten points off Gryffindor for profanity in my classroom," shouted Severus.

"Alright, what's going on? First you're smiling, then you snog your assistant in the Great Hall, and now you're even lowering your point deduction?"

"Ron, shut up," hissed Harry, who was sitting right next to him.

"I suggest you follow Potter's suggestion Weasley, before you end up costing your house more points than you're worth."

"Were you abducted by aliens?" asked Ron.

"Nope," stated Miranda, before Severus could reply. "He got bit by the love fairy. And then the love fairy hopped in her car and backed over him," she beamed. "Now, let it at that, unless of course, you want to see me and Sev make out some more?" she said, stepping closer for emphasis.

"NO!" shouted the entire class in unison. Never before had all the Slytherins and Gryffindors agreed on something. She had achieved what Dumbledore had been after for years, inter-house unity, and all by just kissing Severus.

"Tada," she told Severus. "I fixed the dunderheads." With that, she went back to her desk and grading papers. Technically, she was stealing Severus' desk, but he was too amused to care. The rest of the day continued uneventfully, due to a few more threats of Severus and Miranda 'making out' during the class period. Not one student misbehaved.

Severus was still somewhat tense after walking around teaching for seven hours straight. Miranda dragged him back to his desk and made him sit down. Her hands began working the tension from his shoulders.

"Ah," he sighed in pleasure. "Why didn't I hire you as an assistant sooner?"

"Because the love fairy hadn't run you over yet," she smirked.

"Yes, I meant to ask you. What exactly was the purpose of talking about some imaginary creature called the 'love fairy'?" he questioned.

"The main reason was to distract you long enough to steal your desk." Severus' reply was a deep chuckle.

**I'm not making any promises, but the next chapter will probably let you know who the mystery person is.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Thanks to everyone that reads and reviews.**

That night, while Severus was in the shower, Miranda called one of the lower level demons to her room. As they weren't technically apparating, the wards were not affected by it. She asked him to bring her cat.

Persephone was definitely not enthralled about being taken from Miranda's house. _'Probably likes the celebrity pet treatment,'_ she thought. This was absolutely true. At her owner's house, Persephone had her own personal chef, a high def television, and her own cat spa. It may have seemed strange, seeing as how the cat lived better than a lot of people did.

However, Miranda would spare no expense when it meant her cat would be happy. The cat had saved her life when the person that was supposed to become the Queen broke into Miranda's home and attempted to kill her. Fortunately, Persephone was there and attacked the other woman's face. It gave Miranda time to call for security. Although she was against violence, she did get in one or two good punches.

"Oh, don't worry Persephone," said Miranda, as the cat glared at her. "I'm sure there are a few house elves that could cook you something special." At Persephone's questioning look, she said, "A house elf is a small creature that performs…chores for withes and wizards. And don't even think about trying to eat one." Persephone hopped off the bed and sat in her travel bungalow.

'_Now, just to hide her from Sev,'_ thought Miranda. That was one task that was easier said than done. She couldn't keep her biggest secret from him, although she was glad that he had found out. Now she at least had someone to talk to about it.

She walked out to the main quarters. "Hi, beautiful," Severus said from behind her. She turned around to see him standing there with just a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Uh," she whimpered. She really wanted to touch his abs. Who knew he had that perfect body under all those robes?

"You know," he told her as he stepped closer. "This morning when I called you beautiful," another step, "we started something." He was standing right in front of her now and he leaned in next to her ear. "You said we'd continue later, so…"

She was leaning closer, when there was a meow heard in her room. "What was that?" he asked, alarmed.

"Oh, nothing, now kiss me," she said. Another meow was heard and Persephone started scratching on the door.

"Do you have a cat in there?" he asked.

"Err, well, you see, I kind of told Professor Pepto-Bismol that I had a cat which was why she couldn't see my room so I got my cat Persephone and yeah." She had said that all in one breath so it took a minute for Severus to fully understand what she had said.

"You got a cat?" he questioned.

"No, I had a cat, I just brought it here."

"It's not one of those hideous hairless things, is it?" Miranda couldn't believe that he was being so calm about this. She had expected entirely different questions, like how she was going to get rid of it.

Miranda simply opened the door and Persephone came out. She looked at Severus, meowed, and rubbed her head against his leg. "She's not so bad, I suppose. She seems smart." Severus lifted up the black and white cat to examine her more closely.

"You just think she's smart because she likes you," Miranda laughed.

Severus just shrugged. "I'm glad you didn't name her something ridiculous like Miss Fluffy Boots." At this, Miranda laughed so hard she doubled over, clutching her side. "I think your owner just had a moment of insanity. Come on, I'll get you some food," and he walked to the small kitchenette in his quarters.

He gave her a saucer of milk and a small piece of chicken. "Okay, maybe she does like you," said Miranda from the doorway. She had never seen Persephone eat anything that wasn't specifically made for her and served on a silver dish.

Realizing he was still just wearing a towel, Severus went to change. "Just don't wear your bulky teaching robes. You'll scare the cat," she joked.

He decided to change not a moment too soon, as there was a knock at the door. Miranda opened the door to see Umbridge standing there. She saw Persephone sitting on a chair and emitted a high pitched giggle. Persephone looked up in alarm. _'What is that?!'_ thought the cat in alarm. Never before had she seen something so…pink.

"I see your kitty is out of your room now," said Umbridge pushing past Miranda.

"Oh, do come in," she whispered under her breath. When Umbridge reached to pet the cat, Persephone arched her back and hissed.

"Oh, I see what you mean about newcomers. You're cat isn't very friendly. You know, having her spayed will fix that." Persephone looked like she was about to kill Umbridge, but before Miranda could warn her to back away, the cat reached out and bit the 'Evil Cat Lady's' hand. Persephone had a cat-like smirk on her face as she walked out of the room.

Miranda healed the cut with a flick of her hand. "Yes, well," said Umbridge. "I think I should leave. I will not come back again until that rabid beast has been taken care of properly." With that final goodbye, she left the quarters to break apart some young lovebirds.

"I knew your cat was smart," smirked Severus from the hall as he stroked Persephone's head. "She got rid of-" the rest of the sentence was cut off as he hissed in pain and dropped the cat on the floor.

"Sev, what happened?" she gasped.

"The Dark Lord is calling a meeting. Floo Albus while I get my mask."

When the Headmaster arrived, Miranda told him her grandfather had called Severus. "I've been thinking about this. I believe it would be best if we told him you are going to spy for him, but in reality you will be spying for the Order," stated Dumbledore.

"No," said Sev in a calm voice. "You are not going to put her life at risk. She's been through enough as it is and she has to be alive to keep the Underworld in check."

"Now, Severus, be reasonable. With two spies we'll have more information and be able to vanquish the Dark Lord more quickly."

"I'll do it," said Miranda before Sev could reply. "He's right, and if you were able to risk your life for the past, what?, fifteen years, I think I can help out a little bit."

"Fine," Severus hissed. He ignored her until they reached Malfoy Manor where the meeting was being held.

Before they arrived Lucius had been trying to convince Voldemort to separate Miranda from Severus. "My Lord," he started, "Severus has not been trying to convince her to join you, he has simply been trying to get her to sleep with him. He has yet to even attempt to tell her anything that could help sway her to your side."

"My dear Lucius, do use that pretty blond head of yours. If she falls for Severus, she will have no problem joining me. In fact, even if he doesn't try to convince her to join, I could always just torture him until the distress of seeing him in such a way changes her mind."

Before Lucius could say anything more on the subject, the people in question entered the room. "My lord," said Severus, bowing.

"Severus, stand up," said Voldemort. "Now, I gave you a task to do, did you succeed?"

"Yes, my lord. Miranda has decided to join you. She has also agreed to spy on the Order." All those years of spying had paid off. Severus was now able to maintain a straight face, regardless of the anger within at having to allow _his_ Miranda to join the Death Eaters.

"Splendid. Now, don't worry, my dear, you won't have to get the mark. It will be less conspicuous if you are unmarred. Well, don't you have anything to say?"

"Err, thank you?" she had no clue what she was really supposed to say.

"You're welcome, now see, that wasn't so terribly difficult." He gave what was supposed to be a smile, but looked almost too menacing. "Meeting dismissed, everyone may leave." That was the shortest meeting Miranda had ever attended in her life. She presumed that Voldemort had planned to have to do more to convince her to join.

When Severus and Miranda arrived back in their quarters, Sev finally unleashed his anger. "How could you agree to that?" he shouted. "You could get yourself killed just like-" he stopped himself from saying her name.

"Just like who?" she questioned.

"Just like Lily," the reply was whispered. "I lost the woman that I loved once, I won't lose her again."

"You love me?" No one had ever said that to her before, not even her parents or siblings. Severus only nodded. If she rejected him, he would never be able to face the world again. He couldn't even face her now. Miranda walked up to him and lifted his face in her hands. "Then I'm not going anywhere. Trust me, you'll get sick of me in time."

"Never," he said, and captured her lips in a kiss that seemed to slow down time until they were the only people in the world. He kissed his way down her neck to the collar of her shirt. She walked to the door of his bedroom and beckoned him with a finger.

It will be left to the imagination what they did, but let it be said that they awoke entangled in each others' arms with grins on their faces. It seemed that while Miranda was around, Severus' wake up calls had become much more enjoyable than they had been in past years.

**Ok, so do you like it, do you love it, do you want some more of it? If you do, review. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Thanks to all my wonderful readers and reviewers.**

The next morning, Severus woke up before Miranda. _'Ah, finally a chance to return the favor,'_ he thought with a smirk. He leaned in next to her and kissed her. It was a passionate, searing kiss. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip and caressed her tongue with his. She woke up and moaned into his mouth.

"Good morning," he purred in his deep baritone.

"Now, see, I think your wake up calls are even better than mine," she said.

After looking at the clock, he said, "It's 7:15," and started getting up.

"No," she groaned and pulled the covers over her head. "I don't want to get up yet."

"Don't make me drag you out of bed," he threatened.

"You wouldn't!" said Miranda, peeking out from under the sheets.

"Oh yes I would." Severus grabbed her within the mountain of blankets and carried her to the kitchen. He made toast, and placed her in a chair. "Now, stay here, eat, then get ready to teach."

"You trust me to teach?"

"No, but it's up to you to keep the dunderheads quiet." _'Oh yes,'_ she thought. She remembered threatening to make out with Sev. _'Well, hopefully I won't have to threaten anything more…extreme.' _She wondered what Ron Weasley would do if she threatened to do _that_ with Sev in front of the class.

The possibilities were endless and almost caused her to fall out of her chair with laughter.

"I may regret asking this, but what are you laughing at now?" Severus inquired walking into the room, just as he finished buttoning his teaching robes.

"Ron" gasp of air, "Weasley."

"Ah, yes, one of the biggest dunderheads."

Miranda dressed in jade green robes for the day, which sparked comment from Severus. "Well, darling," he said, "it does appear that I am Slytherizing you. Though I must say, I'm not complaining."

"Darling?"

"You have your nicknames, I have mine."

The day went uneventfully until it was time for fifth year potions. It was directly after lunch. Severus and Miranda stormed into the room in what the students thought was supposed to be one last attempt at remaining terrifying. In reality, they had gotten a little sidetracked and had to rush to actually make it to class on time.

"Put you books away," Severus said. The class gave a questioning look, but did as he said. "Now, you are all going to prepare an oral report and when you're done you will present it to the class." At the mention of oral, Miranda snorted and blushed.

She covered with a sneeze. "Allergies," was her excuse. No one noticed Severus' cheeks tinge pink.

"Right, well, anyway, as I was saying, you will all prepare a report on a different potion. No one will be able to do the same potion so that there is no copying," he said giving a pointed look at Weasley and Potter. "You may begin."

Halfway through class, Ron Weasley was whispering to Hermione. "Psst, what are the properties of the mandrake root?"

"Honestly, Ron!" she whispered back. "We learned that in second year. Figure it out for yourself!"

"Come on 'Mione, just one little answer?"

Seeing Ron was not going to give up, Miranda casually walked over, pulled up a chair, and sat down like she was talking to a girlfriend. "Oh my gosh, Ronald!" she whispered excitedly. "I have the best news!"

"What are you doing?" he asked, alarmed. Everyone else watched with amusement.

"Talking, silly!" she said in a voice about an octave above her normal one. "Ok, so ohmygosh! You will never believe what happened last night. So, like first, Umbridge came over." She was chewing her gum loudly and twirling her hair around her finger. "So, yeah, and like, I have my cat in my room and Umbridge wanted to pet her and she like totally pissed the cat off and it bit her and ohmygosh it was so funny. You should have been there," she said patting his arm. "And then when she left, like me and Sev were talking and one thing led to another, and wow, just wow. We started, oh what's your word for it, snogging, then we ended up in the bedroom and it's amazing those clothes came off so quickly what with all those buttons! And he has the biggest-"

"Okay, okay," shouted Ron. "I don't wanna know what happened next!"

"But I was telling you about my day and since you want to talk so much, I just thought you'd want to talk to me and we could have fun talking about our relationships?" she asked, acting upset.

"No! I won't talk anymore I promise. Just please, please let me do my homework." Never before had Ron Weasley asked to be allowed to do his homework.

"Sure, just remember that if you try to cheat again, in any class, I'll just have to have another girl talk with you." As she was about to turn away, Hermione mouthed 'thank you'. She simply nodded in response. She could tell from Ron's attitude that he believed Hermione existed solely for the purpose of doing his assignments for him.

It wasn't right. Miranda knew what it was like to have people think she was only there to do other's homework. It was the only way she could make friends when she was a kid. Her parents always told her to never talk about her home life, so she couldn't really make any real friends. And Severus was the first person to enjoy spending time with her just because of the person she was. It wasn't because of her status, or power, or money. She just couldn't lose him, not when he meant this much to her.

That's why she agreed to become a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. If something happened to Sev, she might be able to save him somehow.

**So what did you think? It's fun teasing Ron in Potions class! ****J**** So you learned a little bit more about Miranda's childhood and why she doesn't really like Ron, he reminds her of her 'friends' she had as a kid.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Thanks to everyone that reads and reviews this story.**

**There is a small lemon in this chapter. **

One of the things that amazed Severus the most about Miranda was the fact that she could easily go from terrifying students enough to stop misbehaving, back to her typical calm self. "What are you gawking at? Get back to work!" he barked. There were only ten minutes left in the class so the students couldn't really accomplish much more, but to allow them to simply sit there would contradict the past decade and a half of teaching.

The seventh year class also got assigned oral reports. However, none of the students in that class attempted to cheat on it. At the end of the day, Miranda was so occupied with correcting a test, she didn't notice the last of the students filing out the door or Severus walking up behind her.

He started massaging her shoulders in the same manner she had for him only days before. "Mmm, that feels so good," she moaned. He leaned in and kissed the skin right under her ear.

"How does that feel?" he asked, his hot breath washing over her. He continued his trail of kisses down the column of her neck and stopped at her robe collar. Pulling it aside revealed a spaghetti strap top underneath.

He continued leaving a trail of kisses and light nips down her shoulders and on her collar bone. As he was going lower, there was an "ahem" heard in the doorway. Looking up, they saw Umbridge standing there.

"You really enjoy interrupting, don't you?" asked Miranda.

'_Dammit!'_ thought Severus. _'I should have locked the door.'_

"Whatever disgusting activities you two participate in on your own time are perfectly fine with me," said Umbridge. "However, it would be in good taste to keep said activities out of the classroom."

"I'm sure that's not the only reason you're here," said Miranda, not even trying to sound nice after that.

"No. I'm here for two reasons. First, have you removed your cat?"

"No, why? What was she attached to?" questioned Miranda in an innocent voice.

"You know very well what I meant and I'll take that as a 'no.' Now, the second reason I'm here is to tell you I will be monitoring your classes tomorrow to ensure you don't give the students any ideas."

"Any ideas about what?" asked the suddenly clueless Miranda. Severus had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the uncomfortable look on Pepto-Bismol's face.

"About… oh, well! Look at the time, I simply must be going." And go, she did. She nearly tied the student record for hastiest exit from the Potions classroom.

"Positively brilliant," said Sev, picking up Miranda and carrying her bridal style back to their quarters.

"I know you are, but what am I?" she joked.

"Perfect," was the reply. And so, commenced some further…activities for the day.

The next morning before going to class, Severus warned Miranda. "Be careful what you say, do, and threaten to do in class today. Although I adore your methods of punishment, I do not look forward to the punishment that Umbridge might give you. She could even ban you from the castle."

"No kidding? Then, I'll just have to be my innocent little self," she smiled. Severus just snorted. "What? I can act innocent."

"I have no doubt in that," Severus said, walking to the door and holding it open for her. She curtsied and walked through. "It's going to be a long day." She glared and stuck her tongue out at him.

Severus was right, it was a long day. Since Umbridge was there, the students knew that they couldn't be punished for misbehaving, at least not the way they should have been. However, Severus gave any wrongdoers a detention and later they could listen to a very long conversation about whatever subjects Miranda could come up with.

'_Perhaps I'll even get a video and put it on that muggle website Miranda told me about.'_ He smirked inwardly at the thought.

He was drawn out of his thoughts by Umbridge saying, "Don't you know how to discipline your students more appropriately?"

"Yes, and that is what will happen in detention." She seemed satisfied with the answer. Severus had seen the scars on Potter's hand after a detention with her. Spending so much time glaring at someone did have its benefits. Although he had been called an evil bastard before, Severus' punishment methods were never that extreme.

"Ugh!" said Miranda, plopping down on the loveseat in the sitting room at the end of the day. "The dunderheads get dumber every day."

Severus sat down and wrapped an arm around her. "On the bright side, you get to punish them tonight by having one of your girl talks with them."

"Since when do you look on the bright side, much less tell someone else to?" she giggled, trying to look at him seriously.

"I believe it started when I met you."

That night, fifteen students vowed to themselves that they would never again talk in Potions class, at least not when Severus Snape and his assistant were the teachers.

Things progressed smoothly until one day in early spring. It seemed that some students had been practicing defense spells in the Room of Requirement and had named the group Dumbledore's Army. When Umbridge found out about it she called the Ministry and they were planning to arrest Dumbledore.

"Well, at least he got away," said Miranda.

"Yes, but Umbridge is now Headmistress," said Severus with a scowl.

"We're doomed!" she wailed, burying her head in the crook of his neck. Severus chuckled at her over dramatics.

There was a knock on the door. "I've got it." Miranda walked to the door. It was Umbridge.

"I trust you have heard about Albus Dumbledore's removal by this point," she said.

"I thought you weren't coming back 'til the cat was gone," said Miranda. She and Severus had been counting on not having to see her in their quarters again any time soon.

"This pressing matter overruled that decision." She looked distastefully at Persephone sitting on a overstuffed armchair licking her paw. "You see, there are some students that need to be taught a lesson. Do you have any Veritaserum?" she asked Severus.

He simply handed several vials to her and went back to reading a Potions journal. "Right, well, I'll be off then."

"I thought the use of Veritaserum on a student was illegal," said Miranda, sitting down again.

"It is, however, Fudge decided to allow Pepto-Bismol to use it to interrogate prisoners, formerly known as students."

"Hopefully, no one decides to let her use it on teachers." Severus grimaced at the thought. "Perhaps it's time to invest in Weasley Wizard Wheezes," added Miranda.

**So another chapter. I'll get another one up as soon as possible.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Still don't own it. Again, thanks to all my readers and reviewers. You guys rock!**

"Are you sure no one will know about this?" asked a dark-haired man.

"Are you going to tell anyone?" questioned a younger man with red hair.

"Of course not!"

"Then no one will know," said the redhead's counterpart. The young woman that was with the dark-haired man handed the two redheads a bag of galleons.

"And whatever happens, we had no part in this," she added.

"Of course not," said the redheads together. Yes, it's true. Severus Snape and Miranda Riddle had just paid Fred and George Weasley, two of the biggest pranksters in the school, second only to Peeves, to make Umbridge's life just a bit more difficult.

"You're getting to be a bad influence on me," Severus told her as they walked back to the dungeons.

"True," she agreed. "However, I'm also making you laugh more and lowering your stress level, so therefore I'm improving your health and being a positive influence on you."

"That sounded very Slytherin," said Severus.

"Yes, so you see, you're also influencing me. So ha!"

The next day was Saturday so there were no classes to teach, no students to terrify, just time to sleep in and lounge around.

"Oh, glorious weekends," Miranda mumbled into Severus' shoulder and fell back asleep. The next time she awoke, it was 10:00 and Severus was no longer next to her. She got up, dressed, and walked to the sitting room where she found him correcting essays. There had only been about fifteen left because she had corrected most of them while he taught. She took a moment to study him. She loved the way his hair looked like a curtain surrounding his face. His skin was extremely pale and appeared even paler with his black hair, eyes, and shirt. While they were in their quarters, he had stopped wearing the large, billowing robes.

"A picture will last longer," he said, not even bothering to look up. Not expecting him to speak, Miranda was shocked and slightly frightened. She jumped backward about a foot and hit her hand on the doorframe. "Do be more careful," he said. "I don't want to have to fix the wall on my weekend time." He said the last part in a lighter tone and with a smirk.

"I'm okay, by the way," she said, standing in front of him.

"That's good, honey," he still didn't look up. "Alright, now we have the weekend free to ourselves. What would you like to do?"

"Oh, I can think of a few things," she said in a seductive tone.

"I think I like the sound of those things," he replied in a purr.

"Great! Shopping it is!" she smiled and went to get her money.

Severus looked unbelievably disappointed at her decision to go shopping. When she came back she saw how sad he looked. She felt as if she had just kicked a puppy. "Oh don't look so sad, Sev. There's a very special, fun kind of store that I am going to go to."

His face seemed to brighten slightly at this. "Will I like this store?"

"Maybe, maybe not, but I know you'll like what I'm going to buy there."

"Well, then what are you standing around for, woman?" he said jumping off the couch. "Let's get going." With this he took hold of her arm and practically dragged her from their quarters. Miranda laughed at his sudden eagerness in shopping. Severus never liked shopping, then again what man does? But today was different. Even if he didn't know that Miranda was going to go buy something…interesting, he would still go out shopping with her. The simple fact that people would be able to see him with this beautiful woman was enough of a reason to want to go shopping with her. He had never before been the type to flaunt what he owned. However, there were a lot of things he would have never considered before he met her.

He would have never considered giving his heart to another person other than Lily. He realized now that it wasn't really love that he shared with Lily. It might have started out that way, but it turned into something dangerous: obsession. What he had with Miranda was real and he wanted it to remain real. It was love from both sides, something they shared, something that would allow them to grow together and remain together for years to come. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn't realize they had reached Hogsmeade until Miranda suggested they have lunch before shopping.

After a light lunch, they went to a jewelry store, where Miranda bought a tiara because it looked sparkly and she 'needed something to remind herself she was a queen.' "Whatever, you say," was Severus' response. The next stop was a bookstore and she had to order a copy of the book she wanted that would be delivered by owl.

"Next stop, what you're waiting for," she said. Severus hadn't known that Hogsmeade had a lingerie store and only hoped that not many students were aware of it either. He was completely shocked that Miranda knew of it. After all, she had only been to Hogsmeade one other time. _'Perhaps, she is perceptive enough to have noticed it when she was here.'_

Severus, of course, thought that no matter what Miranda wore, she would look perfect, however, there were a few items he told her to consider.

Neither Severus, nor Miranda had seen Lucius Malfoy watching them enter the store. _'It appears they are together,'_ he thought. _'Well, that can be changed.'_ However, that would have to wait until after he had retrieved the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries. Perhaps if he succeeded, the Dark Lord would be so glad that he would take her away from Severus and re-gift her to him. If that would not happen, he was certain he could find another way, even if that meant taking Severus out of the picture.

**Two chapters in one day. I'm so proud of myself. Anyway, next chapter Umbridge will get a little surprise.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Thanks to everyone that reads and reviews.**

Having enjoyed Miranda's purchases, she and Severus slept until lunch. Walking into the Great Hall, they noticed that walking Pepto-Bismol was missing. "Did you hear?" asked McGonagall as Miranda sat down.

"No, what happened?"

"She has green boils covering her face. Apparently someone slipped something in her tea that caused it." She looked around for a moment. "It was the funniest sight I have ever seen."

Miranda leaned closer to Severus and whispered. "See, what did I tell you? It worked just like I said that it would."

"Yes," he agreed. "It worked this time, but I wouldn't doubt she will now attempt to figure out who caused it. And, if she discovers it was your partners in crime, she will soon discover us."

"My partners in crime?" she hissed. "As I recall, you were standing in that hallway with me, too."

"You have less to lose if you are found out."

"Oh, Sev, you worry too much. If she finds out and tries to torture you, I'll simply send my hounds after her."

"You have dogs?" he asked. She hadn't mentioned anything about dogs in the time that he had known her.

"Nope," she said. At the look of confusion she said, "Hell hounds. Don't worry, not to hurt her, just scare her a little. They wouldn't even scratch her, she'd just see a few odd sights."

"I see, well, I'm not saying yes and I'm not saying no, but just keep that as a last resort." He smirked.

Back in their quarters, Miranda asked Severus what was currently happening with the war she had been dragged into. "The Death Eaters are after a prophecy surrounding Harry Potter's birth."

"Why do they want the prophecy?"

"The Dark Lord believes that it contains the secret to defeating Potter and the Order."

"I see," she said. She thought for a moment. "Why do you only call him 'Potter'?"

"Hm?" he said. "Oh no reason."

"There is a reason," she said. "I see it in the way you glare at him. I hear it in your voice when you talk about him."

"It has to do with events in the past."

"I has to do with _her_, doesn't it?" she asked. "I mean, it has to do with Lily, doesn't it?" she asked again.

"Yes," he said, cleared his throat, and stalked out of the room.

'_Uh-oh. I think he's mad,'_ she thought.

Severus walked into their bedroom and slammed the door. He wasn't really sure why he was upset. He supposed it may have had something to do with the fact that those were the only two women he had ever loved. It had to do with the fact that he had lost Lily to another man and then she had been killed. _'And of course anyone would be lucky to have Miranda.'_ Then another thought struck him like being hit by a train. _'So why is she with me?'_

Deciding that his tantrum wouldn't deter her offering comfort, Miranda walked cautiously to the bedroom and slowly pushed the door open as if moving it too quickly would sound an alarm. "Sev?" she questioned, seeing him sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. His head snapped up at the sound of her voice. Never taking her eyes away from his, she sat down on the bed next to him. "I'm sorry," she said, taking his hand. "I shouldn't have forced you to tell me." She dropped her gaze to their joined hands, afraid to look him in the eye.

He brought his hand up to caress her cheek. "Look at me," he said. "You didn't force me to tell you. I'm not sure why I got so angry." She knew it was the closest thing she would ever get to an apology from the man that held her heart. They sat there for several minutes in a comfortable silence. 

"Severus," called a voice from the sitting room. Sev whipped out his wand in the blink of an eye and walked to the next room, Miranda right behind him. It was only Albus with a floo call. "Severus, oh hello Miss Riddle," he said, seeing her standing behind Severus. "I have called an Order meeting for 2:00 this afternoon and decided to floo you as to conserve paper. I trust you'll be able to attend?"

"Yes," Severus replied. "We both will."

"Splendid. I'll see you both then." With this, Albus' head disappeared from the fire. 

"Another weekend wasted that could be spent in your company," he said, sitting down in an armchair. She walked over and sat on his lap.

"It won't be that bad, hon," she said, leaning against him. "Besides, we've still got tonight." She rested her hand in his lap.

"In that case, I propose we get going now." She laughed as he carried her to the door and set her down in the hallway. They didn't meet anyone on the way out of the castle and made it safely to the apparation point. Wrapping his arms around her, they apparated to an alleyway near Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

**It's a little shorter than some of my other chapters, but my life has just become a lot more hectic so I might not be able to update as quickly as I would like. I will continue the story whenever I get a chance though, so please keep reading.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, I'm just playing with the characters.**

**Thank you to everyone that reads and reviews.**

The Order of the Phoenix meeting was held to first, let everyone know that Dumbledore had left Hogwarts and why, and secondly, to discuss some new information on the prophecy. After the meeting, Miranda was talking enthusiastically with Tonks. When they walked out into the hall, Severus was having a heated argument with Sirius Black. He seemed to be saying that Sirius was doing nothing to support the Order in any way.

She told Tonks she would owl her sometime and they could have a girls' day out. Then she walked purposefully to where Sev and Sirius still stood and grabbed each one harshly by the ear. She proceeded to drag them down the hall where they wouldn't be disturbed, releasing their ears.

"What is it with you two?" she hissed. "I know, you hated each other growing up, but honestly, twenty years is a lot of time and baggage to carry." She looked back and forth to each one. "Sirius, apologize."

"I didn't do anything."

"You ruined his childhood. Now, apologize." When he still refused, she stomped on his foot, which hurt more than one would normally expect as she was wearing heels.

"Ow," he groaned. "Fine, I'm sorry, okay? Just please, please, don't do that again." She smiled sweetly and turned to Severus.

"Sev, I think you should apologize for what you said in the hall."

Against his better judgment and in fear that Miranda would have better access to kick more precious places on his body, Severus muttered an apology and something that sounded dangerously close to 'you mangy mutt.'

"Good. Now, see, that wasn't so difficult," she said. "Now, shake hands, act civil, and if I have to do this again, we'll do an entire weekend of 'getting acquainted with our feelings' workshops."

They both shook hands, albeit hesitantly. "That's great," she said. "Now, Mrs. Weasley invited us to stay for dinner so I'm going to go see if she needs help in the kitchen. While I'm gone, behave." She gave each one a warning glare and walked away.

After Miranda left, there was an awkward silence. It was broken by Sirius. "You know, I feel kind of sorry for you."

"Why?" asked Severus. For once, everything was going well in his life. Surely Black wouldn't try to take that from him. Would he?

"You have to be in close proximity with _her_ all the time," he gestured toward the kitchen. "If that was any indication of how evil she is, you poor bastard." Sirius looked around as if Miranda could be right behind him.

"I'll have you know that I am most definitely not a bastard. My parents were married when I was conceived. And as for her being evil, she happens to be the kindest person I know." With that he walked off to the kitchen. He couldn't stand listening to someone insult her like that, especially when they knew nothing about her!

"Oh, hey Sev!" said Miranda as he entered. "Are the two of you getting along?" she asked referring to him and Sirius.

"Um, yes," he said, picking up a roll.

"Uh oh, what happened?"

"Nothing," he said.

"What happened?" she asked again.

"Well, he called you evil, but I handled it."

"Did you hit him?"

"No!" With that clarified, she started laughing. "What's so funny?" He began to worry something had happened to ruin this perfection that had been built in the past months.

"He thought I was evil, all because I made him apologize. That's hilarious." She composed herself. "You stood up for me?" she asked, looked at him through slightly hooded eyes. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me." She walked over and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Not in the kitchen, dears," scolded Mrs. Weasley.

"Sorry, Mrs. Weasley," said Miranda, walking back to the potatoes she had been cutting up. Moments passed and Sirius walked in. Miranda cleared her throat. "You know, Sirius, a little birdy told me that you said I was evil," she said, realizing the knife was still in her hand.

His only response was an audible gulp. She looked at the panicked face of Sirius and the slightly amused face of Severus. Stabbing the knife into the cutting board, she walked over to where Sirius was sitting. "Oh, don't worry," she said. "I've been called worse. And hey, for once I fit in with the family, whether that's good or bad, I'm not sure."

"I don't think you fit in with your family," Sirius said, regaining his voice. "You're not the same kind of evil. You're more the kind of funny evil that would never harm anyone, more than a bruise anyway. If the other members of your family are like You-Know-Who, then I can't believe you grew up with them. So no, you're nothing at all like them."

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks, I think. I hope you two keep getting along at least somewhat," she said. "I try to see the best in people so please don't be two to prove me wrong. There has to be something you have in common." She smiled once more and went back to cooking.

Dinner went uneventfully and Severus was glad to be back in his quarters at Hogwarts. Miranda kept her promise to him and when he awoke, he was alone. Stretching, he sat up and leaned against the headboard. Miranda came bouncing into the room.

"Morning, sleepyhead," she beamed, sitting down on the bed.

"How are you so energetic?" he grumbled. "I thought you hated Monday."

"Oh! I almost forgot! I had my espresso maker brought over. So I had like three double shots and ohmygosh, so yeah, I'm totally awake." She grabbed his hand and started pulling him over to the wardrobe. "Come on, get ready, we have class in fifteen minutes. I'll go make you some coffee to wake you up." With that she walked out of the room.

'_Thank god,' _Severus thought picking up a small, square shaped box. _'I have to hide this more carefully next time before she sees.'_ Donning his signature, billowing, black teaching robes, he walked out of the bedroom and down the hall where she was waiting with an espresso.

**Yeah! Another chapter. What do you think is in the box? Also, do you think that Sirius should survive that day at the ministry, that Miranda should find a way to bring him back, or that the plot should follow the books and let him be killed by Bellatrix?**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: Don't own it, never have, never will.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. This chapter will be more lovey than previous ones, but still good, I hope. Don't worry, they will get back to being more interesting.**

Perhaps drinking the espresso he had been handed wasn't the brightest idea. Severus was certain that Miranda had added something to it to make him more…hyper. There really wasn't a better way to describe what he was feeling. The urge to run around was nearly overpowering. Nearly. Being a spy for years had the added advantage of being capable of controlling one's emotions. He controlled the urge to bounce off the walls by staking around the classroom. On the other hand, Miranda had finished correcting assignments in record time. They were all done, properly, before the end of class. "Finished," she had proudly announced, then blushed, realizing she had been acting more immaturely than the dunderheads.

'_Oops,'_ she thought. _'Maybe I added just a little too much energy potion to Sev's drink.'_ She noted how he was walking around the room, appearing to be in great discomfort. _'Poor guy, I probably should apologize.'_ Then a better idea popped into her head. She'd simply have to take him out to dinner. It seemed that every time they went to a restaurant, something wonderful would happen.

The rest of the day was spent trying to figure out which restaurant in Hogsmeade would be the best for the task at hand. Little did she know, Severus was faced with the same predicament. He was trying to determine which one would have the most romantic setting. Not only that, he wanted a place that would be private and concealed, in case something happened, like Miranda saying 'no' to his proposal. This made him realize that it was a possibility she would say no. They had only known each other a few months. He had never even believed in love, that is until he met her. _'Why would you say yes to a proposal from Snivellus?'_ he could hear his childhood nemesis ask when he saw the ring, if he saw the ring, if she said yes. Outside, Severus revealed none of his inner turmoil. Inside, he was practically hyperventilating.

At the end of classes, that day, they walked up to each other. "Will you go out to dinner with me tonight?" they asked at the same time and chuckled.

"I wanted to apologize for the espresso incident this morning. What's your reason?" she said.

"Oh, um no reason, just please say yes." He realized that, subconsciously, he was referring to the proposal tonight as well.

"Okay, I'll pay?"

"No. I'll pay for dinner this evening and you just, well, just be your beautiful self." He took her hand and brushed his lips against the back of it. Her response was a gentle, loving smile. "Go on, when you're ready we'll leave."

She walked back to the room that she had when she first moved into Sev's quarters. She had left her clothing in the wardrobe in there, as it was easier and she had more space. Discovering a dark green dress in the back that she hadn't noticed earlier, she put it on and found a matching pair of heels. The dress was a halter and reached just below the knee and was slightly ruffled toward the bottom. It hugged her body in all the right places. She thought it would be perfect for the evening.

Miranda walked out into the hall, seeing Sev in the sitting room. _'Ah, I see she found the dress I bought for her,'_ he thought. He looked her over and offered his arm, saying, "Shall we?"

"Let's." With that, they walked out the door, down the halls and out of the castle. Severus had the ring case in his left robe pocket. He had booked a reservation at a small, but romantic restaurant. It had cost a little more to get it so last notice, but it was worth it, if only she would say yes.

After the plates had been cleared, Severus started out, "Miranda, I know we haven't known each other very long, just a few months. However, I feel that I have known you for much longer. We are compatible in many ways and I know for a fact that I love you. My heart longs for you, the love of my life." Miranda thought she knew where he was going with this. But no, he couldn't really be proposing could he?

As he got down on one knee, she received her answer. "Miranda, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

She squealed, something uncharacteristic of her, and jumped into his arms, saying, "Yes, of course."

It seemed surreal to Severus. Then again, the past few months had seemed surreal to him. The simple opportunity of having someone to hold dear for the rest of his days had seemed like a possibility that he would always long for, but never achieve. He smiled, one of those sincere, genuine smiles that made her heart soar.

After paying the bill, they returned to Hogwarts. They made love as people that were meant to be together. Every caress was deliberate, every kiss passionate. That night, before she fell asleep, Miranda examined the ring that her Severus had given to her. The diamond was large, but not so much that it seemed to be showing off. It reminded her of Severus, confident, yet subtle. The band was of white gold, as he knew that she didn't care for yellow. Smiling once more at his peaceful, sleeping face, she fell into a sleep filled with images of him and what their future would hold in store.

**So, they're engaged. Next chapter will have people's reactions to it.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: Still don't own it. Cries Thank you to everyone that has been reading and reviewing.**

As Severus was getting ready for classes the next day, he reflected on the previous night. _'She said yes!'_ had continued to play in his head until he fell asleep. He also realized that he was the luckiest man in the world. Of course, the woman he loved had said yes to his marriage proposal. However, that's not the only reason he was lucky. Severus had been rejected many times in his life, but felt that if he had been rejected by her, it would have destroyed him.

All his life, he had kept anything that could have been a weakness, or be used against him, far away so he would not be forced to acknowledge it or the inevitable loss. He realized now that his love for Miranda was a weakness and could most definitely be used against him. He wished that he could send her away to a safe house, but that would raise suspicion and would cause the Dark Lord to hunt her down, if only to teach Severus a lesson. No, he would have to simply keep her close at all times. That could prove more difficult than the safe house.

But he stood by what he said. He would protect Miranda with his life. Satisfied with this decision, he walked with his fiancé to breakfast. People would find out soon enough. The only person inside Hogwarts he wished he could keep the information from was his godson. If Draco were to tell Lucius, Severus feared what he would do as a result of the knowledge. He had seemed oddly set on having Miranda as his own on that night not so long ago.

Miranda Riddle, soon to be Snape, had been trying to convince Severus to 'live in the moment,' and not be so worried for the future.

"I'm not saying you should plan for some thing," she had told him. "Just stop to enjoy what's happening around you." To prove her point, she had begun running her hand up his thigh. He believed she had made her point very well. He smirked at the recollection.

"What are you smirking about?" she asked, looking at his amused face.

"Oh, nothing," he replied. "Just one of the many things I adore about you." This seemed to please her, as she linked her hand through the crook of his arm and leaned her head against his shoulder.

The couple knew people would notice the ring, they just didn't know that such a big deal would be made about it.

"Bloody hell, Snape!" Ron shouted. "You move quickly. Let me guess, you got the poor girl pregnant?"

"Ohmygosh, Ron! I had no idea you were in the mood to talk!" Miranda squealed in glee.

He gulped and shook his head so forcefully, le looked like a reverse bobble-head doll. "I-I'm shutting up now," and he sat back down with a slightly greener face. Everyone who had been in the Potions class that the 'girl talk' had occurred in, burst into laughter.

Hermione, who had taken a liking to Miranda after that day, stood and said, "Allow me to be the first to congratulate you."

"Aw, thanks!" Miranda gave her a quick hug and walked with Severus to the Head table. _'Insufferable know-it-all,'_ Severus thought. _'She's just being polite,'_ reasoned his logical side.

"My, that is a beautiful ring," said Minerva after they sat down. "Severus, you have surprisingly good taste."

"Why, thank you, Minerva. With the way that compliment was formed, you'd think I'd said it," he said in a snarky tone.

"Well, someone has to be the sarcastic teacher. The rumor throughout Gryffindor is that you've lost that ability and have been nice to students."

"It doesn't matter to me what your Gryffindors say," said Severus calmly. Inside, he was screaming, _'What do you mean I've lost it?! I'll show them, I'll be the worst thing to happen to their House Points since Longbottom,'_

Miranda just watched him thoughtfully, as if she knew what he had been thinking. He sometimes wondered if perhaps she was better at Legilimency than he. This both frightened and intrigued him. He would have to question her about it later on.

He stood up, made the excuse of needing to correct some assignments, and told Miranda to finish eating and come to the classroom. After he left, Minerva asked her how had had proposed, something she would never do when he was there to hear.

"Well, he took me out to dinner, ordered champagne, and after we finish eating, he asked. He actually made a small speech out of it."

"Simple, but romantic, sounds wonderful. Severus never was one to make a big scene out of things. So, how do you feel now that you're engaged?"

"Positively giddy," she laughed. "I always wanted an occasion to use that expression and this is it," she explained. The continued talking for another ten minutes, then she excused herself and went to Severus' classroom, where he was reading a new book on the theory for a new development in the Wolfsbane potion. _'Wonder if it's for Lupin,'_ she mused. She could tell almost instantly that he was a werewolf. Ever since she had become the Queen of the Underworld, she could tell if someone was a werewolf, vampire, possessed by a demon, and just about anything else you could think of. Originally, it had terrified her like many of her new powers, but she had grown into them and used these, what she had decided to call 'gifts', to make the world a better place.

"Wow, that homework you're correcting must be pretty interesting," she said, tearing him away from the book. He made a show of grabbing a paper and writing on it. "Aw, look, it corrected itself," she joked, seeing a grade already written at the top. "Relax, I know you don't like talking to other people about your personal life. You wanted a way to escape. Just know that if you ever try to trick me into leaving you alone for awhile, I will follow you so I suggest you tell me if I annoy you, 'kay?" She walked up to the desk he was sitting at and wrapped her arms around him.

"How did I ever get so lucky as to have you fall for me?" he asked, kissing her hand.

"Do I need to remind you of a little creature called the love fairy?" she asked. "I could always have her run you over with her car again, and see if you can come up with that answer on your own. Or would you prefer that I tell you?"

"I choose the option where nothing runs me over."

"Oh, in that case," she sat down on his lap. "For one, you're a genius. I mean, you know something about every single subject, it seems. Second, your robes billow so much I would never lose you in a crowd." He snorted at this. "When I look into your eyes, I feel like you're looking into my soul, which sounds almost creepy, but with you it's a good thing. Um, you're sexy and attractive, maybe not in the traditional sense, but that's another reason. You don't follow what others think is appropriate. You have your own style and you don't care if someone doesn't like something about you. Oh, and of course, your voice; I positively love your voice."

"That was quite a list," he smirked. The truth was, he had never been told that he had anything to offer a woman, much less a list to that extent. Of course, it surprised him and made him swell with pride knowing that, for the first time in his life, someone cared enough to tell him that he had that many good qualities.

"Well, I've spent enough time in your company to know that you do have good qualities, and of course, to know what your habits and what you think of people." She made a point of the last part of the sentence. _'So that's how she knew what I was thinking this morning,'_ his logical side told him. He had allowed his 'logical side' to start influencing him again after he had reached his office.

They went to their daily positions in the classroom as they heard the footsteps of approaching students echoing in the corridors.

**Here's the 16th chapter. Thank you all so much for sticking with this story for this long. I will try to update again over the weekend, as I will have a little extra time.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: Don't own it. Thanks for reading and reviewing. OK, just to let you know, it will be slightly AU from now on. Well, obviously, it already was, because of the OC character, but anyway, you'll see why it's AU in this chapter. That should be the only major change in plot though. With that said, enjoy the chapter.**

That day in class, students continued to stare at Miranda's ring as if it would attack them at any moment. Several of them even forgot that they were supposed to be taking notes. Seeing that some of the dunderheads would be failing the class without these notes, Miranda decided to step in.

"Alright, kids," she said, interrupting Severus as he was giving the lecture. "It's obvious that you are not going to be focusing until you get an explanation. How to start, how to start," she muttered to herself. "Oh, I know! When a man and a woman love each other very much, they may decide to do something."

"Miranda!" hissed Severus. "You can't tell students that."

"Oh relax. I wasn't telling them about _that!_ Anyway, when they love each other, they may choose to get engaged. Unless they're some muggles, because in their world, fifty percent of marriages end in divorce, but that's not important. And after being engaged and getting to know each other better, they get married. Now, can anyone tell me what this is?" she indicated her ring.

A Hufflepuff raised their hand. "An engagement ring."

"Very good!" she said somewhat sarcastically. "Five points to Hufflepuff. Now, tell your friends about this talk so they don't keep gawking at the diamond and lose their house any points."

"Are you enjoying interrupting my class?" Severus asked her.

"I wasn't interrupting, they were all staring so-"

"Detention, Miss Riddle. My office tonight, eight o'clock." He had to fight to keep the smirk off his face.

She realized he had his own reasons for the detention. "Fine, I'll be there," she said trying to sound like she was upset. In reality, she was extremely anxious to find out what he had planned.

"Now, also tell your friends that anyone can get a detention for interrupting me." He went back to talking about the properties of basilisk venom.

It had been nearly a week since the couple had become engaged. Miranda had been thinking, and the more she considered it, the more she liked the sound of a small wedding that was private. She thought that this would be something that also appealed to Severus. Knowing she was in this for the long hall, and that she never wanted to be apart from him, she decided she wanted to make the wedding something that would make him happy as well. After all, it takes two people to have a marriage. It would be a good idea to start it off on the right foot. Being with Severus was something she considered as a sort of privilege, something she feared could possibly be snatched away at any moment.

That night, Severus was sitting in the sitting room, reading a novel by a wizard that had 'just been discovered'. She sat down on the chair next to his. "I have a feeling you came in here to discuss something and not just to stare at my profile. Am I correct?" He placed a bookmark in between the pages and set the book on the coffee table.

"It's about the wedding."

"Ah, yes, I was wondering when you would bring that up. Don't worry, it can be a big and flashy as you wish. The only thing that matters to me is that you and I are at the altar." He took her hand in his.

"But, you see, I don't want a big, flashy wedding. I just want it to be small, and intimate. I only want it to be you, me, the person who is marrying us and a couple of witnesses."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" He caressed her face with his hand. "You only get married once in your life. Don't you want it to be something that you can remember forever?"

"I would remember it forever because it's with you," she smiled.

"If that is what you really want, then it will be a small wedding. You do want to have a honeymoon though?"

"Yes, I do."

So it was determined that they would get married at Miranda's house, well mansion. It had been given to her when she became the Queen. After a small ceremony at her home, they would go to Paris for a honeymoon. It had always been her dream to go to the Eiffel Tower with the one she loved, and now Miranda had that opportunity.

"Question," said Severus. 

"Yes?"

"You said that you're the Queen so what happens when you get married?"

"Oh, that's right, we should get you a crown. I don't know how gold would really go with your looks, but I think that platinum or silver would look really great with your hair and complexion." 

"That's not exactly what I meant. Am I going to have any responsibilities?"

"Not unless you want to. Of course, the members of the Underworld and the leaders of other kingdoms would want to meet you. But after that, you could leave it up to me or you could be as involved as you want."

"I see," he said and seemed to consider this.

"I'll give you a couple of days to make up your mind. Think it over. But I still might buy you a crown just because I think it would look good on you." She smiled and walked to the door of their bedroom. "Good night, Sevvie!" she called.

Realizing she was playing with him, he followed after her and said, "You'll pay for that, witch," and swept her off her feet and laid her down on the bed. "Now, what should I do with you?" he purred.

"I have a few ideas," she smirked.

"As do I," he captured her lips in a searing kiss.

The next morning, Miranda awoke and went to the cabinet in the bathroom, taking out a pain potion. She wasn't in extreme pain, just a little bit of soreness. Things had gotten a little intense the night before, but she wouldn't change a second of it. She turned on the shower and stepped in, letting the water flow over her body.

When she got out, she slipped and landed on her arse. _'Ow,'_ she mentally groaned. A bruise was already forming when she got up. _'It's going to be a long day.'_ This thought was correct. At 3:00 pm, Severus was called to the Evil Cat Lady's office and she tagged along.

"Ah, Professor Snape," said Umbridge when they entered the room. "I need another bottle of Veritaserum."

When Severus informed her that he didn't have anymore, she began to get angry. Just as Severus and Miranda were about to exit the office, Harry yelled, "He has Padfoot at the place where it's hidden."

"What does he mean?" questioned Umbridge. 

"No idea," was the response. As soon as they were out of the line of vision, Severus and Miranda ran at full speed to send a message to Dumbledore and the Order that Sirius was in the Department of Mysteries.

Miranda was the one that found out from one of the Order members that Sirius had been killed by Bellatrix Lestrange in the Department of Mysteries and went through the veil. She had been somewhat upset by it, not because she enjoyed his company, but because she knew that was the only person that Harry really had left, other than Remus, that was even remotely like family. She knew what it was like to feel like you're all alone in the world and feel as if you'll never have a family. Even her biological family wasn't like family, not really. 

As she saw Harry in Severus' class, she could tell that he missed his godfather a lot. He seemed almost depressed by the fact that he was dead. It only succeeded in making her feel even sadder for the poor boy. This empathy set the gears in her head going and caused her to begin planning. She was going to help Harry have a better memory of his childhood than she had of hers.

**Another chapter. I tried to update sooner, but things came up. What do you think Miranda will do? This pretty much wraps up the fifth year and the answer to the question will come during the summer before the sixth. Sorry if that doesn't make sense. I'm kind of half-asleep.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry or Sirius or Severus. Just my character and a cat named Persephone. : )**

"Where are you off to this early?" Severus asked, wrapping his arms around Miranda's waist. It was the first day of summer holidays. She was already dressed and walking to the door of their quarters. After Hermione and Harry had gotten rid of the Evil Cat Lady, everyone in the castle had returned to their normal freedom and activities.

"Oh, nothing," she responded. "I'm just going out for a bit of fresh air."

"Perhaps I'll come with you then," he said, turning her around to face him.

"No!" she said a little too quickly. "I mean, you don't have to come, it's just going to be a 'me day'."

"You're up to something," he observed. "You're seeing someone else." It wasn't a question, but a statement. It broke Miranda's heart that this was the automatic reaction to what she said.

"No, how could you think that?" she asked, and Severus could see the hurt in her eyes. He felt as if he had kicked a puppy. Finally, a brilliant attractive witch accepts him for who he is, and he messes it up.

"I didn't mean it in the way it sounded. It's just…" Now matter how much he trusted someone he didn't want to think about the past, much less explain it to someone. But this wasn't just 'someone', this was Miranda, the first person to really understand and accept the way he lived his life.

"Just what? I'll tell you what I'm going to do if you tell me what you were going to say." It wasn't blackmail, just a small incentive to tell her what he was thinking.

"There haven't been many people that I have been able to trust without having them stab me in the back." He broke eye contact and seemed to be unable to look at her after that moment of vulnerability.

Miranda ran her hand along his cheek and jaw line causing him to look at her. "Severus, listen to me, and never, ever forget this. I would never cheat on you or even consider it. You are the one I want to be with and no one will ever change that."

"Thank you," he said, taking her hand and kissing the palm.

"You're welcome. Besides, I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm a little lazy. Trying to balance between two men would be too much work," she joked.

"Now, it's time for your end of the bargain, what are you up to?" he narrowed his eyes slightly.

"It's not anything bad. It's quite good actually, well, it depends on who you are I suppose, but-" she was cut off by Severus.

"Get to the point," he said, massaging the bridge of his nose.

"Well, I decided to do my good deed for the summer," she smiled. Severus thought he would have to cut in again until she spoke. "So, I'm bringing Sirius back." It had sounded better in her head.

"Back? You can't bring someone back!"

"Well, sure I can. See, I thought Harry was really depressed and I think that if I bring back what little family he has in this world, it might make his childhood just a little bit better. You know, when a child loses everyone they care about, they can grow up to be very angry and violent adults, completely cut off from contact with others. Do you think he should end up that way?"

"That has nothing to do with it!" He had raised his voice and was practically shouting at her now. "Even if it were possible to bring someone back from the dead, you couldn't."

"I can't, but I have people that can and besides, he went through the Veil so even though he was hit with the killing curse, it won't matter. His soul isn't even anywhere, it's even worse than purgatory, it's just suspended there."

"I don't care, you're not bringing him back. And don't give me that look, it has nothing to do with my childhood feud with the man."

"Okay, Sevvie, I agree with you."

"You do? I mean, of course, you do, I'm right."

"Yes you are. So I have to go with my second plan and _we_ will adopt Harry and give him a real home." She smiled and picked up a quill and parchment. "Do you think I should send him a note or wait 'til I talk to Dumbledore?"

Severus walked over, grabbed her arm unceremoniously, and dragged her to the door.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"To bring Black back so I don't have to tolerate living with Potter." He locked and warded the door after they exited. "Now, lead the way to this necromancer." Severus didn't necessarily _want _to bring Sirius Black back, but it was the better alternative as opposed to having Potter live in _his _house and _his_ quarters.

There were three Order members stationed at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, two of which were aurors. They included Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, and Kingsley Shacklebolt. They were attempting to figure out how to get past the wards on the house and make it safe for the other members to do the same.

They had been working for days. Suddenly, the wards disappeared. "Careful, it could be a trap," warned Shacklebolt.

The reanimation process was a success. Sirius Black was back amongst the living, Harry would no longer have to live at the Dursleys, and Grimmauld Place could still be the headquarters. The only possible downfall would be when the others found out. They hadn't really considered what other people might do as a result of having Sirius be raised from the dead.

"What are we going to say to Dumbledore and the others?" asked Severus.

"The truth." She looked around the room. They were standing in a small stone, circular shaped room where the ritual had been performed. There were protective spells and shields around so that if, by mistake, someone other than Sirius had come back, they could be safe. "We'll tell them I felt bad for Harry and decided it would cheer him up if his godfather were alive. I mean, honestly, who would voluntarily live with the Dursleys?"

"How do you know it's bad at the Dursleys?" countered Severus.

"You told me what Petunia was like as a child. Do you really think that she got any better as she got older? You said she hated Lily and hated you too for having magical abilities." Miranda looked saddened by thinking about this.

"I suppose you're correct. But if anyone asks, I'm telling them it was your idea."

"I'd expect no less."

"Are you and Snivellus ready to go?" asked Sirius, walking up to them.

"His name is Severus. Get it right, smart one." Miranda was the one that wanted to bring him back, but that wouldn't prevent her from slapping him upside the head. She smirked at the thought.

"You're bossy," Sirius said.

"It would seem that your little plan backfired. He's even more immature now," said Severus, observing Sirius playing with his wand and turning a stone into a pink flower. He handed it to Miranda and it squirted water in her face.

"I guess you're right, but it's supposed to wear off after a few hours so he'll be okay." She grabbed a towel and dried her face.

"I just hope that during those few hours, we are okay and don't have too much trouble with the man child."

**Here you go. I'll try to update again within the next few days. Don't worry, Miranda would never cheat on Sev, it just seemed like it would be the automatic response because of all the things that have happened in his life and the amount of betrayal he has faced.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: Don't own it. Thanks to everyone that has read and reviewed so far.**

Sirius was brought to Severus' quarters in Hogwarts because they really had nowhere else to take him. The patience of his temporary guardians was wearing thin. In the past hour and a half, he had managed to turn Severus' hair, as well as the robes he was wearing, pink. Miranda just laughed and screamed, "Oh no, Umbridge is back!"

She stopped laughing when her hair became green with purple polka dots. "You look like something that Luna Lovegood would believe in," said Severus, who began laughing at her. Even Persephone was caught by Sirius and was turned from her normal calico colors to a bright orange mass.

"It's the long lost Weasley!" shouted Sirius, grabbing the cat and running from room to room. He found a small piece of yellow cloth and tied it around her neck like a cape.

"Oh dear Lord," wailed Miranda. "He's turned my cat into a walking cheese puff." Persephone hissed at this statement as she was flown around the room. "Well, it could be worse I suppose." There was a knock at the door.

"It just got worse," said Severus. "Hide him." She obeyed and dragged the man child off to a room further down the hall. Opening the door, Severus found Albus Dumbledore on the other side. "Headmaster, this isn't the best time. Could you come back later?"

"I'm afraid not, Severus. You see, it appears that the wards surrounding Grimmauld Place have somehow been removed without the assistance of any Order members. As you are more educated in dark curses than anyone else, I need you to take a look to ensure that there aren't any booby traps around. I honestly have no idea how this could have happened."

"I believe I have an idea," said the Potions Master.

"He got away!" shouted Miranda from down the hall. Sirius Black ran into the room and stopped in his tracks at the sight of Dumbledore.

"Santa!" he exclaimed excitedly. He began hopping up and down in front of the Headmaster. "Did you get my Christmas letter? If not, I want a bowling ball. Wait, no, I want a broomstick. Wait, can I get both?"

"Sirius! How did you get-" Severus began in a surprised tone. "Oh, forget it. Headmaster, Miranda and I brought Sirius back."

"I thought you said you'd deny it."

"I changed my mind. Now, we are prepared to accept whatever reprimand you feel appropriate."

"We are?" she questioned in a disbelieving voice.

"Yes, now shush."

"I don't feel that's necessary, Severus," said Dumbledore, patting Sirius' head. He remembered how to transform into a dog and 'Padfoot' was now wagging his tail excitedly. "I must ask, however, how did you do it and also, why is he acted like a young child?"

"I know a necromancer," explained Miranda. "As for his immature behavior, it is supposed to wear off soon. The only reason I brought him back is because Harry seemed so depressed after Sirius died."

"I died?" asked Sirius, now back in human form. After a nod from Miranda, he screamed, "I'm a zombie," and ran toward Miranda's old bedroom. _Thud._

"The good news, it wore off," she said, after checking on him. "The bad news is, he'll be out for an hour or two. It's a side effect, but after he rests, he'll be as good as new."

"Indeed," said Severus.

Once Sirius awoke, the trio went to the Order headquarters, where the other members of the Order found out exactly why they were able to enter Number Twelve Grimmauld Place once more.

"It's good to have you back," Remus Lupin told his friend, embracing him.

"It's good to be back," he said, referring to both being back amongst the living and no longer acting like a young child.

"I don't see why you had to bring me here," they heard Harry say in the hall. "It's too soon after Sirius' death to be anywhere near here." The door opened revealing to the boy who lived his very much alive godfather. He stood there in shock for several minutes unable to believe Sirius was standing before him. Then, "Sirius!" he shouted running to his godfather.

"Hello Harry."

"But, how, how are you alive?"

"That would be my doing. Because of the fact that he was sucked into the Veil, it was much easier to bring him back."

"Thank you," he said, walking up to her and offering his hand. She shook it and smiled.

"Severus and I should be getting back to the castle. I'm glad I could help you have a somewhat real family." She smiled again, and walked out of the room with Severus.

As they walked down the street toward the apparition point, Severus couldn't help watching Miranda with a small smile. It was amazing how many things she was capable of. Until now, he had believed that no one would ever do anything kind for another person unless they had some hidden agenda. She had just brought Sirius back purely out of the kindness of her heart and the hope that someone - even if it wasn't her - could have a good childhood.

"You know, a picture will last longer," she said with a very Snape-like smirk. "Is there any particular reason why you're staring at me like that?"

"You did that for no other reason than to see Potter have a somewhat happier childhood. You had no ulterior motives, you just wanted someone else to be happy."

"You sound surprised," she said, still walking. He kept watching her with a look of wonder. She pulled him into the same café they had eaten in all those months ago when he told her what he did for the Order. Sitting in the back with two cups of coffee, Miranda began to explain. "Yes it's true that I did it simply because I think that Harry deserves to have at least a few happy memories from his childhood. First, his parents got murdered when he was just a baby, then he was sent to live with those god awful Dursleys. I still don't see what Dumbledore was thinking when he made that decision. Then he saw Cedric Diggory get killed, then Sirius. All that can start to destroy a person's mind. I just didn't want to see that happen to him."

"I still don't understand why you did it." He really couldn't understand why someone would choose to help another when there was absolutely no chance of personal gain. He was a Slytherin after all.

"I did it because of empathy. I imagined what I would feel like if I were Harry and my godfather died and decided to try to help him."

"How did someone like you ever decide to say yes to marrying a Death Eater, Potions Master, double-spy, bat of the dungeons?"

"Have we not discussed the Love Fairy yet?"

"Ah, so she got to you too."

**Sorry it took so long to update. Wouldn't you just love to have Sirius changing your hair color? Please review.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Thanks to my fabulous reviewers and thanks for reading.**

About a week and half after Sirius was brought back, Dumbledore called Severus and Miranda to his office, saying it was urgent. Upon entering, they saw that his hand was badly burned and looked rather dead.

"Headmaster! What's happened?" asked Severus.

"I thought I could use the ring after it was no longer a Horcrux, but there was some sort of curse on it." Severus began performing spell to determine the curse that had been applied to the ring. It was one that was irreversible. Even Miranda, the last in the line of Slytherin heirs attempted to remove the curse and side effects, but the attempts were fruitless.

Severus collapsed into an armchair and buried his head in his hands. The first person to believe in him and trust him was going to die and there was nothing that could be done about it. He could perhaps take a potion or elixir that would prolong the inevitable death, but there would be no cure.

"There, there, my boy," said Albus. "It's not so bad after all. We all knew I would not live forever. Yes, death is one of the great mysteries of life and no one knows what lies beyond. However, I recall a line from a muggle film I once saw. 'To die would be an awfully big adventure.'"

Severus looked up and said, " Is that supposed to improve the situation?"

"No," said Albus. He had the twinkle in his eye once again. "But when we die, we are allowed to see what does indeed lie beyond and hopefully have a peaceful eternity."

"Humph," was Severus' reply. Miranda snorted at his stubbornness and knelt down in front of him, smoothing his hair away from his face.

"Severus, listen to me," she said softly. "It's going to be alright. He's made peace with this," she indicated Dumbledore. "You should too. I know, it might not be the easiest thing, but that's why you have me. Understood?" Severus studied her for a moment, as if looking for any trace of a lie. Satisfied, he nodded. "Good." She turned to Dumbledore. "If that's everything, I think we should be going so Severus can process this. We'll work on brewing the elixir as soon as possible."

"Thank you," said Dumbledore as they exited. _'I think she's been a good addition to Severus' life,'_ he thought. For once, Tom Riddle did something that worked out for the better, even if it was unintentional.

When they entered their rooms, Persephone had something or rather someone, cornered. There was whimpering coming from a small pink creature with wings.

"Persephone!" Miranda said. "What are you chasing?" She chased the cat away, looking at the pink thing.

"Thank the heavens!" it exclaimed. "I thought that beast was going to eat me. Oh, hello," she said to Miranda in a squeaky voice. "You must be Miranda Riddle. And you're Severus Snape." Severus and Miranda exchanged looks. "Oh forgive me! I am Lucia Maria Stephanopolis (spelling?), or as most refer to me, the Love Fairy."

"Told ya she's real," Miranda punched Severus' arm. "Oh, sorry," she said at his pained expression.

"You need to learn to hit like a girl."

"So, Lucia, what are you doing here?"

"Well, you see, it was entirely be accident, and I took a wrong turn, but I accidentally ran the two of you over with my car. I was distracted by the air freshener. It was cotton candy scented. I totally understand if you'd like to press charges. If you two wish to separate and feel that you have to be together, this would be why."

"We don't want to press charges," said Severus. "Bringing her into my life is one of the few things I've got going for me."

"I agree, I'm not filing any reports against you," said Miranda, studying Lucia. She was wearing a pink dress, had white wings with small bits of red, and a pale complexion. Her eyes were a dark blue and her shoes were pink with gold clasps. He had white-blonde hair and reminded Miranda of a Polly Pocket doll she had as a child.

"Thank goodness. If you had, my insurance rates were going to skyrocket!"

"You should switch to Geico," joked Miranda."

"But I get paid for being the mascot for this company. Geico has the gecko. I used to have Valentine's day until some baby in a diaper that shoots arrows took over. Yeah, that's what people want, a baby running around with weapons. I suppose it's not much better to have me running people over, but neither of you felt a thing, right?"

"No," they said in unison.

"Wait," said Severus. "If you didn't feel anything then how did you know we were run over by her?"

"Honestly?" said Miranda. "I made it up, but I had you fooled. So, what kind of car do you drive?" Miranda asked, changing the subject.

"I drive a red Ford Mustang with a gold stripe on the side, a mini version of course."

"Gryffindor colors," growled Severus.

"I also have a green one with a silver stripe that I drive around Christmas time," she said.

"There, you see? Slytherin colors too," Miranda smiled at Severus.

"Well, I better be going," said Lucia. "There are a lot of people that need love in their lives. Ta ta for now, may you have a wonderful life together." She flew away and out into the corridor.

"If she can fly, why does she need a car?" he asked.

"Would you want to fly all over the world?"

"I suppose you're right. Besides, it would be rather difficult for a fairy to run someone over with their foot. A tire may work more efficiently."

"What are we doing for the summer, before we get married?" asked Miranda later that evening. They had just finished brewing the first batch of Albus' potion. "We can't just sit around here, it would get boring."

"I'm boring?" asked Severus in mock hurt.

"No, of course not! That's not what I meant. It's just-"

"I know, I just enjoy seeing you squirm." He chuckled when she stuck out her tongue. "I thought that we would go to Spinner's End and possibly fix up the house. We could sell it if you don't want to spend any time there."

"No, it's up to you whether or not to keep it. So long as you're with me, I'm willing to live just about anywhere." She thought for a moment, then got a devious smile on her face. "It Pettigrew still at Spinner's End?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Ooh, can I hex him?" The pudgy little toad had really annoyed her when she first came in contact with him.

"You really are turning Slytherin. Just make him trip on the stairs and be absolutely certain it looks like an accident." Severus had also been annoyed by the looks that Wormtail had thrown at Miranda initially. If he attempted to put his greedy paws on her now, Severus would cast the Killing Curse without so much as a second thought.

"I love you!" said Miranda, throwing her arms around him and kissing him deeply.

"I love you, too," he said. "And so does my snake."

She got a confused look on her face. "You have a - oh! In that case," she began. She hooked her finger through the belt loop on his pants and led him to their bedroom.

**I know, the Slytherin and 'snake' thing has been done to death, but I couldn't resist. I hope you liked the chapter.**


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Oh how I wish I owned Harry Potter, but I don't.

Thank you to all my wonderful readers and reviewers.

* * *

Severus and Miranda decided to take Persephone with them to Spinner's End. Normally, she would have opted to return to the 'good life' in the mansion, but she had grown attached to Severus. She like him almost as much as she adored Miranda. Plus, when Miranda had referred to Wormtail as 'Rat Man' she wanted to see what moron would turn into a rat.

Persephone was Miranda's familiar and as such, could understand everything she said. It was this connection that had allowed the cat to save her owner that night the intruder broke in with the intention of killing her.

Miranda made up her mind that if Persephone were around when Wormtail was in his animagus form, she wouldn't let her near him. As much as she would love to see him eaten by a cat, she didn't want Persephone ending up with rabies. There was no telling what diseases he may have come in contact with as a rat.

They had been at Spinner's End for three days now and there still hadn't been an opportunity to push Rat Man down the stairs yet, but not for lack of trying. The asked him to go near the top of the basement stairs to bring her things several times. Each time he responded, saying he was a guest and she should do it herself.

"You might be a guest in a cat's stomach soon," she mumbled.

"What was that?" asked Pettigrew. No doubt, he wanted any evidence to hand over to Voldemort about her.

"Oh, nothing, just trying to get rid of the scum."

"Scum? Make sure you wash your hand before you go near the food." He was so caught up snickering at the comment, he forgot to stay away from the stairs. She flicked her hand, heard a pig-like squeal and Pettigrew flew down the stairs. "I'm alright," he called. "Just a bit bruised. Ow."

Miranda was laughing and clutching her side when Severus walked in. "I take it your plan finally worked," he smirked.

"Yep," she said, wiping tears from her eyes. "I told you it would be less boring here."

"Perhaps we should begin shagging in various places around the house," he suggested. Of course, he was just kidding. Severus Snape was not and would never be the type of man to put himself on display, but it was entertaining to imagine Pettigrew's face if he saw.

"You mean, so that way Wormtail will see and have a fit?" Miranda asked. He nodded. "Hmm. It's a good idea. We'll save that plan for when he gets really annoying. For now, I'm content pushing him down stairs. Besides, he's already at high risk for a heart attack, with the chubby rat cells clogging his veins."

"Have I ever told you how sexy you are when you're making diabolical plots?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"No, but I-" she was cut off by Severus grabbing his left arm.

"The Dark Lord seems to interrupt at some horrible times."

"Are you sure Umbridge isn't holding him hostage?"

Severus attempted to smile, but it turned into a grimace due to the pain. They went upstairs and got their robes and silver Death Eater masks. Miranda didn't have the mark, but she did need to wear the mask and robe.

"I only hope that it's not a revel. I don't want you to be expo0sed to that," he said with a frown.

"What exactly is a revel?" she asked, slipping the robe around her shoulders.

"It's a horrible thing the consider a type of party, where they rape, torture and murder muggles."

"That sounds horrible," she whispered. The idea of that much destruction performed by a group of people just because others didn't possess magical abilities made her stomach turn.

"It is horrible, which is exactly why I don't want you around one."

"I just thought of something," she whispered, tapping his shoulder to ensure she got his attention. She whispered so Wormtail wouldn't hear if he was still in the house. "What if he knows we brought Sirius back?"

"Then we shall deal with the consequences," he hissed. Miranda could see he was angry thinking about what would happen if Voldemort found out what they had done. Feeling his anger fill the room, she decided it would be best if she allowed him to calm down and walked out of the room.

Severus wasn't really angry with her. He was more angry with himself for neglecting to think about what the Dark Lord would do if and when he discovered it. For a threat that was always there, he certainly seemed to be forgetting about it quite often. He was reminded of Moody saying, "Constant vigilance." He snorted, recalling two years ago when he discovered Moody was actually Barty Crouch, Jr. under the guise of Polyjuice Potion.

"Are you ready?" Miranda asked, walking back into the room in full Death Eater garb. They apparated side by side to Malfoy Manor, where many of the meetings were held. Voldemort had his signature throne brought into the ballroom. It was one of the few rooms of the mansion large enough to hold all the Death Eaters at one time.

Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange were there, Narcissa looking rather distraught. _'The poor woman is probably lost without her husband around,'_ thought Miranda. Lucius didn't seem to appreciate his wife as much as he probably should, but the heart wants what the heart wants, and sometimes you love someone in spite of all the reasons that indicate you shouldn't.

Of course, Wormtail was cowering behind the throne. He was terrified of the other Death Eaters because he knew that they were aware that he was the person that told Voldemort everything he could to get them tortured and punished. Some had come close to losing their lives due to the rat's favorite habit.

"Ah, Severus, Miranda, good to see you," said Voldemort with his snake-like smile. "Wormtail has just been telling me about your latest activities."

* * *

Sorry to leave it there, but don't worry, I'll update again soon. Oh, and I prefer to think of the Death Eaters wearing the silver masks. Even though the half skull masks seem more fitting, it really creeps me out. Please review.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

"Wormtail has just told me about you latest activities," said Voldemort.

Miranda subconsciously held on to Severus' arm. "I have no idea what you're talking about Grandfather," she said.

"Oh come now," he said. "You're not the first to push someone you loathe down a flight of stairs. I, myself, recall when I was a child and would do just that." Actually, he did many deeds far more extreme than that before he even started Hogwarts.

"You mean, you're not going to punish them, Master?" asked Wormtail.

"Be quiet, Wormtail. And never try to get my own flesh and blood punished." He considered the rat for a moment. "Crucio!" Wormtail began screaming and writhing on the ground.

Miranda almost, _almost,_ felt bad for him. However, that changed as she reminded herself that this rat would and did, attempt to put her, and Severus, through the same punishment he was now experiencing. Suddenly, she didn't feel sympathy for him at all.

"If he bothers you again, let me know, or if you prefer, you may handle it yourself," said Voldemort releasing the curse.

"Thanks, Grampy."

"Grampy? I rather like that name," he said. Maybe there really was something close to humanity left in him after all. He shuddered at the thought. "Now, I haven't seen you since before you got engaged. Come here and allow me to see the ring."

Miranda walked forward, in spite of her fear of the Dark Lord. She extended her left hand so he could look at the ring.

"My, my, Severus. This is a very lovely ring. Good eye."

"Thank you, My Lord," he said.

"Now, as you all know, the plan to acquire the prophecy was a failure." He gave Bellatrix Lestrange a pointed look. Miranda nearly laughed, knowing more than he did about the truth of this statement. "We lost many Death Eaters to Azkaban. However, young Draco Malfoy has agreed to join us."

"What?!" shouted Miranda in outrage. "He hasn't even graduated yet! How can you drag him into this?" Severus, who had, in spite of the blank expression he kept, become terrified both for Miranda and himself, grabbed her wrist, pulling her back.

"My Lord, she doesn't mean that," he attempted to persuade. "She's simply shocked by the young people joining our noble cause."

"Be that as it may, Severus, I'm afraid you'll both need to be taught a lesson. Crucio!" he shouted at Severus.

Severus waited for the pain to course through his body. He closed his eyes and tried to mentally prepare himself to hold back the screams. He waited, but the pain never came. He cracked one eye open. There was a type of fiery shield in front of him, protecting him from the curse. The spell ricocheted back at Voldemort, who was forced to fling himself out of the way. Pettigrew wasn't fast enough and was hit by the rebounding curse, forcing him into another period of unbearable pain.

Voldemort lifted the curse and glared at Severus. "What is the meaning of this?" he questioned.

"It's not his doing," defended Miranda, who stepped forward. The wall of fire had dissipated when the curse was lifted. "It has to do with his engagement to me. Some of the protections and powers have already been… given to him. If they all entered at once as soon as he said 'I do' the person receiving them would become ill and it would ruin the honeymoon."

"You have these powers two?" Voldemort sneered.

"Apparently. The King and Queen of the Underworld are supposed to be equals after all."

He considered this. "Well, then, it's a good thing you're both on my side." He didn't seem to even have the slightest doubt that the two of them supported the Dark Side and not the Light. It's amazing the random thoughts that can pop into your head when you have just escaped a painful situation. Miranda was reminded of a saying, "Come to the Dark side, we have cookies." For her, Severus was enough of a reason to join either side, so long as he supported it. At this point, she was so attached to him, she'd follow him into the bowels of hell if he asked her to.

The meeting continued for nearly another hour, but neither Severus, nor Miranda were paying enough attention to actually know what was being said. Fortunately, Miranda had a compact voice recorder so she wouldn't miss anything, so compact in fact that no one noticed her turn it on. She considered simply turning the recorder over to the Order so they would no longer have to pay severe amounts of attention. However, the lack of attention from each one stemmed from different reasons. Severus kept thinking about these new powers to determine if he noticed anything else that seemed different about his spell casting. Miranda, on the other hand, was thinking about how attached she was to Severus. It seemed that they spent every waking moment together. He had become the family that she never really had.

The meeting ended and Severus and Miranda went back to Spinner's End. The Order meeting was scheduled for the next day, in the event that Severus may be tortured, something which almost happened.

"You could have at least told me that I would receive new powers," Severus griped.

"I'm sorry. I really did forget about it until just recently," said Miranda. "I was trying to come up with the best way to tell you, but I guess the cat's out of the bag now." As if on cue, Persephone walked into the room where they were talking. "Look, I even have my own props." She laughed and patted the cat on the head.

Severus couldn't help the small smile that came across his face at the joke. "I suppose the good thing is now I won't need to worry about being tortured. But let's not tell the Order just yet. One meeting a day is more than enough."

"I agree, besides, they might decide to send you on missions even more dangerous than spying on a room full of armed Death Eaters."

They both shuddered at the thought so Miranda decided to lighten the mood. "Plus, that would drag you away from me, and there is no way I could possibly be separated from you for such a ridiculous amount of time." She smiled and so did he; it seemed that no matter what was going on, Miranda's smile was contagious, at least as far as Severus was concerned. She wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Are you hungry?" she asked and he nodded. "Come on, I'll make lunch."

I'm no longer planning the date that I will update on, but I will try to get another chapter up soon. :)


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I only own Miranda and a cat named Persephone.**

**Thanks to all my reviewers. You guys are great.**

It had been a month and a half since the meeting when Voldemort discovered Severus' newly acquired powers. The Snapes had been married for two weeks and just retuned from their honeymoon in a small village in Switzerland. Miranda had an ancestor from that region and they both enjoyed exploring the area.

Miranda was cleaning out what had once been a flowerbed in the backyard. The sky was overcast and appeared to be waiting to rain any second. A large, golden brown owl flew into the yard with a letter addressed to Severus.

"I'll give it to him. Don't worry," Miranda said after the owl tried, successfully, to bite her hand. It studied her a moment through narrowed eyes, then flew away, but not before leaving a dropping where Miranda had been working. "That's really mature!" she called after it.

"Problems in the garden?" Severus asked over the top of the _Daily Prophet._

"Here, a stupid, evil owl brought this for you," she said handing him the letter. He was forced to stifle a chuckle at her evident misfortune. He recalled the owl giving him a hard time as well, before he cast a hex that truly ruffled its feathers, so to speak. Miranda walked into the kitchen to wash her hand where the bird had attacked.

Severus' letter was short and to the point.

_Severus,_

_There is a meeting tonight of the Inner_

_Circle of Death Eaters only. Do not bring_

_Miranda. 7:00_

_LV_

"Congratulations," he told Miranda.

"On what?" she asked, sitting down on an armchair.

"It would seem that your little moment of outrage has excused you from a meeting of the Inner Circle."

"But you still have to go?" He nodded. "Well, that hardly seems fair. Will you at least inform me of what transpires?"

"I'll see what I can do. Of course, if I'm forced to take a Wizard's Oath regarding secrecy, that won't happen."

"Just make sure you come back to me, okay?"

"Don't worry, I shall return." He kissed the top of her hand.

Severus left at 6:45 to make sure he got to the meeting in time. Miranda had to reassure him several times that she would be fine on her own. At least, if it was the Inner Circle that meant Wormtail would be gone as well, which made her fell much more secure. She pulled out an empty scrapbook she had purchased and began organizing her wedding photos, reminiscing of that day.

The ceremony had been small, as promised with just a few other rulers, who Miranda considered her closest friends. She had never been to a wedding in the Wizarding World before and was surprised that the vows weren't much different than Muggle ones. The major difference was that after the 'til death do you part, magic swirled around the couple tying them for life.

Miranda's dress was white satin with a detailed pattern in sequins. Severus wore black dress robes with a white button down shit. His hair was tied with a green silk ribbon.

"If every article of clothing is black, they'll be more like teaching robes," he had joked.

The swell of magic that bound the couple had been even stronger than most because of their position as king and queen of the Underworld. She had teased him for twenty minutes about being 'King Severus.' He had returned the favor by referring to her as 'Mrs. Snape.'

He returned from the meeting just moments after Miranda put the last photo in the book.

"You're back!" she said, after he removed his mask and outer robe.

"Of course. And I have been granted permission to tell you, in particular, what happened at the meeting." He wrapped an arm around her waist and led her to the kitchen.

"So what did my grandfather want?" she asked, after sitting in a dining chair.

"Well, imagine my surprise that Draco Malfoy was there. It appears that the Dark Lord wishes for the youngest Malfoy to kill Albus Dumbledore."

"But that would be like sending him on a suicide mission. It'd be simpler to just cast the killing curse now," Miranda objected.

"That's not all," Severus continued. "He also expects Draco to help smuggle almost all the Death Eaters into Hogwarts. I suppose this is how the Dark Lord plans to repay the Malfoys for Lucius' mistakes in the Department of Mysteries."

"It's still horrible. I can't understand why anyone would follow him in the first place. No offense," she added, recalling that he had chosen to follow Voldemort years ago.

"None taken. I think the reason we joined was the power he offered us. The opportunity seemed too good to pass up. Now, we stay for fear of that same power."

"So, what happens if Draco doesn't succeed?"

"He'll be killed or at the very least, tortured severely." Miranda drew in a breath through her teeth.

"These kids were dragged into a war far too early in their lives."

"I agree, but some could say you were dragged into being a Queen far too early in your life."

"That's different. These children are facing death."

"I know. Come, we have things to do early tomorrow so I suggest we get some sleep." Severus took her hand in his and led her upstairs.

"You hired Slughorn?!" shouted Severus. He and his wife had gone to Hogwarts to inform Dumbledore of what happened at the meeting. "Honestly, his grading standards were horrible. Favor the famous people and anyone else doesn't matter. It's outrageous. Do you realize how long it took to fix the damage he caused to the dunderheads?"

"Now, now Severus. I thought you would be happy that you get to teach defense class."

"Honestly, Headmaster! If you were expecting him to look ecstatic, that would take a lot of caffeine." Miranda blushed at the memory of the time she had slipped an extra energy potion into his morning coffee.

"Be that as it may, I am… appreciative that I can teach defense. I just feel that there should be a system in place to ensure fairness. Even having Miranda teach would be a better idea."

"Splendid idea!" Dumbledore exclaimed.

"What idea? I don't have an idea. Oh don't even thing about it."

"Okay, then, I get all the credit," said Dumbledore. "Miranda would you consider being a teaching assistant to Horace Slughorn in Potions?"

"Um… sure, why not? It'll be funny to see Ron's face when he realizes who the assistant is."

"Wouldn't it be more fun to see his face when he realizes you're one of the people to teach him how to block spells that could send him flying backward onto his arse?"

"Heh, heh," she laughed. "Alright, that would be better. I choose to help in Sev's class."

"Perhaps we'll even bring Lockhart back for demonstrative spells," smirked Severus.

"Who?" mouthed Miranda.

"I'll tell you later," he replied.

**Alright, it took me longer than usual to update but I should have the second part of this chapter up in a few days. Reviews might help speed it along. **


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter related. **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing.**

_Last time:_

"_Be that as it may, I am… appreciative that I can teach defense. I just feel that there should be a system in place to ensure fairness. Even having Miranda teach would be a better idea."_

"_Splendid idea!" Dumbledore exclaimed._

"_What idea? I don't have an idea. Oh don't even thing about it."_

"_Okay, then, I get all the credit," said Dumbledore. "Miranda would you consider being a teaching assistant to Horace Slughorn in Potions?"_

"_Um… sure, why not? It'll be funny to see Ron's face when he realizes who the assistant is."_

"_Wouldn't it be more fun to see his face when he realizes you're one of the people to teach him how to block spells that could send him flying backward onto his arse?"_

"_Heh, heh," she laughed. "Alright, that would be better. I choose to help in Sev's class."_

"_Perhaps we'll even bring Lockhart back for demonstrative spells," smirked Severus._

"_Who?" mouthed Miranda. _

"_I'll tell you later," he replied._

Now:

"That still doesn't take care of the fairness issue," said Severus with a scowl.

"I'll simply inform him that if a student goes to their head of house saying that they feel their grades weren't the ones they deserved there will be someone looking into his grading system and he may face a reprimand."

"It'll do, but I still think there are better options."

"I don't know him so I have no opinion on the matter," said Miranda. Both men had looked at her as if she was the answer to the problem. "I'm just the lowly assistant that doesn't even get paid for this job. I'm not complaining though." She really wasn't. One of the high points of her day was watching Severus teach potions. She couldn't wait to help him with the Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

"Now, as for the problem concerning Draco Malfoy," Severus began.

"Ah, yes, well perhaps we should, well, I should, allow him to do it. Now resistance."

"What?" shouted Severus and Miranda in unison.

"I'm going to die in little more than a year anyway," he indicated his charred hand. "It seems cruel to take the young boy down with me."

"It's still ludicrous."

"I'll try to come up with alternatives. However, at the present time, it seems the most… idealistic way."

"Idealistic?" Severus asked arching a brow. "By whose standards?"

"Yes. You want to ensure that your godson lives, do you not?"

"Of course. I care about Draco like a son. I've been there for all his life. But I don't want you to die either, Albus."

"I know and thank you for caring, my boy. However, we have already had this conversation and isn't it better to save one life rather than sacrifice two?"

"Alright, Headmaster, I'll go along with this, but don't expect me to like it."

"I'd be insulted if you did."

"So, who's this Lockhart fellow?" asked Miranda as they walked down the hall to the infirmary. Severus needed to get the list from Madam Pomfrey of the potions that had to be brewed.

"He was the defense teacher a few years ago and at that time considered quite a celebrity. That was during the year when the Chamber of Secrets was opened so he formed a dueling club. I assisted him and well, I believe it would be most effective if you viewed the memory yourself.

After getting the list Severus and Miranda went to their quarters at the school where he had a pensieve. Immediately after viewing the memory, she doubled over laughing.

"Of all the funny things I've seen, that was the best." She took a deep breath and smiled, "Severus Snape, can I have your autograph?"

Just days after meeting with the Headmaster, Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange came to Severus' house. Narcissa asked Severus to fulfill Draco's task if her son was not able to do so. He agreed, after a lot of pleading on Narcissa's part.

"Why did she have to choose me?" he asked Miranda later that night.

"I don't know. It's going to be horrible if you have to do it. He's been your mentor for so long."

"Perhaps mentor is a bit much, but yes, I do admire the man. He practically saved my life after the first fall of the Dark Lord." After Narcissa and Bellatrix left, he sent a letter to Dumbledore explaining the situation. He didn't know if he would be capable of facing Albus yet, if ever.

"At least this way, you can ensure Draco's survival," Miranda said softly. In the small amounts of time she had spent around the boy, he hadn't seemed like a terribly bad person. A bit arrogant, perhaps, but it was to be expected after a lifetime being taught to revile all things of 'impure' blood.

Severus grimaced into the darkness of the room as he lay in bed. _'Save one life rather than sacrifice two.'_ It was so like Dumbledore to attempt to do one last courageous thing even on his deathbed. _'A Gryffindor to the very end,'_ thought Severus.

Unbelievably, he had a restful sleep that night. There was only one nightmare about what eh would be forced to do in coming months. Perhaps it was Miranda lying next to him, his one security that something was going well in this life. Or perhaps it was the shock and abruptness that didn't allow the anxiety to set in. He preferred to choose the first option for the time being. It was with this thought that Severus realized the subject of his thoughts was awake and watching him with interest.

"Any chance last night was just a dream, err, nightmare?" he asked.

"No, sorry."

"Damn," he said in an emotionless voice and let his head fall back onto the pillow. He remained perfectly still.

"What are you doing?"

"Pretending to be dead. If I practice enough, maybe you can convince everyone I died. Then you can have a funeral for me, bury me, and come back and dig me up. There should be enough oxygen to stay alive for an adequate amount of time for you to do that."

"Do I look strong enough to dig up a corpse in a small amount of time?"

"First of all, I won't be a corpse, I'll just be acting. Second, use magic." The only part of Severus' body that had moved in the time it took to have this conversation was his lips. It was difficult to tell if he was even breathing.

"I don't think so."

"Just consider. It wouldn't occur very soon. I still need some practice at being dead and we need to think of how I would die."

"Would you like me to push you out a window?" Miranda asked sweetly.

"Fine, we'll keep it as a last resort, but I'm determined to find some way to avoid killing Albus."

"You could place all your hopes on Draco."

"He's not capable of premeditated murder. You've met him. He may be somewhat cruel to other students-"

"Hermione," Miranda interrupted. She had witnessed a confrontation between the two.

"-but he's not the type to kill someone."

"Maybe I could push Grandfather out of a window," she mused.

"That won't work; he has horcruxes."

"What's a hork-crutch?" she asked.

"A _Horcrux,_" he said, stressing each syllable and entering teacher mode, "is an object that contains a piece of a person's sol and allows them to come back to life when they die. The Dark Lord created six, possibly more."

"I see. Is that a common practice in the Wizarding World?"

"No. It's very dangerous and with each one created the person becomes less whole, less human, if you will."

"Then let's go destroy these things," she began getting out of bed.

"You can't just destroy them! There are very few ways to destroy a Horcrux and I'm not even sure what all the remaining ones are."

"Remaining ones?" she asked. "You mean some were destroyed?"

"Yes, his diary and the one used to bring him back in Potter's fourth year. Albus also seems to believe that Potter, himself, may be a Horcrux. Of course, he would have become one through no intention of the Dark Lord when he attempted to kill the boy."

"So I should start researching them now?"

"If you really want to. Try to figure out which objects the Dark Lord may have chosen."

"Oh, that's so easy. Why don't I just learn to fly on a hippogriff while I'm at it?!" Miranda threw her hands in the air and left the room, stomping every step of the way.

"Research projects seem to have the same effect on adults as on students. Interesting." Severus shrugged and went back to sleep, pulling the comforter over his head.

**This may be my last post for a little while because I start school on Tuesday. Don't worry though, I will update whenever I find the time.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I only own Persephone and Miranda. Believe me, if I was JK Rowling Snape would not have died in Deathly Hallows.**

**Thanks to everyone that reads and reviews. I'm sorry I haven't posted for a while, but you know, school, exams, fun stuff, NOT. So, without further ado, on with the story.**

"Sev, wake up," Miranda said, sitting on the bed next to him. "I have a question."

"She really is like a student. And Granger, out of all the possible dunderheads, the know-it-all," he mumbled and groaned at the end of the statement.

"What did you say?" He still had the blanket pulled over his head, making it impossible to understand a single word he was saying. "Oh, it doesn't matter. Look, I've got a few questions about horcruxes."

"A few?" he asked, yanking the comforter off his head. "You said a question, indicting _one._"

"Well, I changed my mind. Now, may I ask these questions or not?" He didn't answer, but waved his hand telling her to continue. "Right, how do you spell horcrux?"

"You don't know how?" he asked, arching a brow. He spelled it, regardless, and told her to continue.

"Well, at least I can pronounce it. Anyway, how do you know about them?"

"I don't see what that has to do with destroying them."

"Not much, I'm simply curious."

"The Dark Lord informed me of them years ago. I had been doing some of my own research in the Dark Arts and asked him about some things. Of course, I was held in high esteem by the Dark Lord, or surely, I would have been tortured for even asking."

"Don't call me Shirley. Now, number three where should I start researching them?"

"I'll find you the book I discovered them in. I'll also give you a pensieve of the memory involving information the Dark Lord gave me. And what is this about Shirley?"

"It's a muggle joke from a movie. Not important." She looked at her list of information she had been writing. "Okie-dokie. That's all."

"Okie-dokie? Have you been drinking some of your coffee this morning?" He checked to see if her pupils were dilated.

"No, of course not. I'm simply happy to actually be doing something to help the Order."

"You already help the Order by spying."

"No, you help them by spying. I just tag along. I'm just the sidekick. You're Batman, and I'm Robin."

"Funny, I had pegged you as Wonder woman, but I believe many people would agree with the Batman part of that."

"We're getting off the original topic. Look, I'm just trying to find this out and contribute the information to the Order."

"I see, and how do you plan to do that? Start a horcrux hunting party?" He instantly regretted his words when he saw the expression on her face.

"You're brilliant. Okay, so who do you think should hunt them?"

"Does it make any difference if I tell you this is ridiculous and you shouldn't do it?"

"Heck no. You know I'm stubborn like a mule. Maybe it's a good thing I didn't go to Hogwarts. They would have had to make a separate house just for me."

Severus smiled slightly at the joke. "In that case, I nominate Sirius Black for the front lines."

"Oh, Sev! I had no clue you wanted to participate in those getting to know each other workshops! I think I have the pamphlet around here somewhere."

"Now, my dear lovely, beautiful, intelligent wife, you wouldn't submit your own husband to that level of torture would you?"

"No, but this isn't for your sake, I'm simply afraid for the lecturer's life. You may choose to hex him."

"Once again, my wand saves the day!"

Miranda snorted at that. "Come on, you and your wand can help me research."

"But summer's supposed to be my time off. I only have a few more days before I face the dunderheads. If I hex one of them it will be your fault!"

"Would you prefer I had someone else help me?"

"So long as it's not Black, that's the best idea you've had today."

Miranda arrived at headquarters within a half an hour of her conversation with Severus. The library there was as good a place to start as any. Now her only problem was finding someone to help her with her research. It had to be someone that knew the importance of secret keeping, if that involved having a notorious prankster help her so be it. The Weasley twins were working, as it was one of the last days of summer and they would be very busy. Most aurors would question why she was researching, probably not believing the truth due to the fact that she was Voldemort's granddaughter and was still thought by some to be on his side.

'_What a stupid, preposterous notion,'_ she thought. _'Bloody Gryffindors!'_ She giggled at that, knowing she was starting to sound just like Severus. Most professors would lecture her on the dangers of researching the Dark Arts. Just then, her answer walked by.

"Good morning, Miranda," said Lupin, followed closely by Sirius.

"Ah, finally come to your senses and left Snivellus?" he questioned. "Come here, cry on my shoulder."

"No, I did not come to my senses! Erm, that is, I don't have to come to my senses. I mean, I have my senses. I am very happy with Severus thank you, and am not leaving him. I'm here for a reason."

"Of course she's not leaving him Sirius! I apologize for my friend, he can be a bit obnoxious at times."

"That's understatement of the year," she muttered under her breath. "Don't worry I'm used to it," she said more loudly. "Maybe you can help me, I need to study up on horcruxes and how to destroy them."

"Why?" asked Sirius.

"Oh, don't tell meyou think I'm dangerous or supporting my grandfather. I'm on your side which is why I need to know how to destroy them and get rid of the monster once and for all."

"We know you're on our side, we were just curious." They set off for the library.

"I told you not to get help from Black!" Severus hissed.

"He didn't help, not really. Honestly, I think half the time he was hiding a Playwizard behind the book. The one who really helped was -"

"Lupin, I know. So you chose the werewolf to help you instead. Do you really think that was the better option?"

"He's actually a nice person if you get to know him. Besides, aren't you glad that I found information?" She held out fifteen pages of notes about horcruxes, though not much information was included about how to destroy them. It simply listed things that had been tried and failed, though even that was lacking because not many people were dumb enough to want to split up their soul. But at least it was a place to start.

"Did you find anything useful?" She just shook the papers in front of his face. "Fine, research with your precious marauders." He turned and walked away.

'_Ah, so that's what this is about. He's still holding the grudge. Guess I would too, though. I think I know how to cheer him up. Where did I put the coffee?'_

"I don't need coffee!" he shouted as Miranda tried to get Severus to drink a cup.

"Okay, fine, I was just trying to cheer you up."

He scowled at her.

"I'll make you a deal."

"I'm not drinking coffee you make."

"Forget the coffee. Just listen. I am going to continue to get Lupin and Black to help me research. Listen or I'll kick you in the shin! Now, if during that time, either one begins to make strong advances toward me, you can hex them, but only when I say it's okay. Deal?"

"Deal," he said somewhat begrudgingly, though he had a smirk on his face.

"Good, now cheers!" she said toasting him, downing her own cup of coffee. He toasted with her and drank half the cup.

"You tricked me!"

"You Slytherin-ized me!" she countered.

"So, tell me, why does your library have so many books on Dark Arts?" Miranda asked as she wrote down information on horcurxes.

"The notorious house of Black had a lot of dark wizards and witches. The rest were erased from the family tree. It only makes sense to have Dark texts. I just never got around to removing them from the shelves."

"Oh, well, for once, your laziness is a good thing then." Miranda looked up and smiled at him.

"I'm not lazy!" shouted Sirius.

"Sorry to inform you my friend," said Lupin with a small smile.

"Ugh, you're both against me, great!" Sirius stood up and stomped to an overstuffed armchair that was far away from the other two occupants of the room.

**Not the most I've ever written, but it's all I've got tonight. I'll try to update more often. Check out my other story the Potion Master's Assistant. As always, please, please, review.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Batman.**

**Thanks to all my reviewers. I had a really good response for the last chapter so I worked hard to finish this chapter soon.**

"Thanks for helping with research, but I really need to go now. I'm getting a gift for Severus," said Miranda, standing up and gathering papers.

"Oh? Anything special?" asked Lupin.

"Um, well, let's just say, it will appeal to his personality."

"Okay then," he said.

* * *

"You understand we don't get many orders like this?" the car salesman asked Miranda. There was only one car dealer in the Wizarding World, but he could turn any normal muggle vehicle into a wizard's dream car, kind of the 'Pimp My Ride' of the Wizarding World.

"I know, but you can do it, right?"

"Can I do it?! Of course I can! What do I look like, an imbecile?"

"Okay, okay! How soon will it be finished?"

"That depends how much you're willing to pay." She wrote a number on a piece of paper and passed it to him. "I can have it done in three hours."

"Sounds great!" As she walked away from the best (and only) car improver in the Wizarding World, she said, "It's good to be Queen."

* * *

Miranda had been out of the house all morning. Severus simply guessed she had been at Grimmauld Place researching with the two remaining Marauders. A more appropriate term for the morons would be "Banes of Severus Snape's existence". Perhaps not, that was a very long title. _'I guess Lupin isn't a complete moron,'_ he admitted to himself. _'He was rather smart as a student and an acceptable teacher. Better not tell anyone else that though, I might lose my title as 'Greasy Bastard of the Dungeons.' _

He wondered again where Miranda was. Not that he was complaining about her absence. He had been taking advantage of the quiet setting, reading, brewing potions. But the quiet was beginning to get on his nerves. Months of living with _her_ had caused him to grow accustomed to noise, regardless of how aggravating she could be at times. _'Oh no, I miss her already.'_ He heard the front door open.

"Hello, love," she said.

"You're back I see."

"Here, put this on," said Miranda tossing a piece of cloth at Severus.

"What is it?"

"A blindfold."

"Why?"

"Because it covers your eyes so you can't see anything around you."

"I know what it does, but why do you want me to put it on?"

"Just do it, please?"

"Fine, but don't expect me to be happy about it!" Miranda smiled triumphantly and led the way out of the house. She held onto his arm so he didn't run into any more walls. He yelled at her after hitting his arm on the second one. The first he had walked into entirely and he made a comment about his nose having enough problems already.

"Tada!" she said merrily. "Don't you love it?"

"I can't see!"

"Why? What's wrong with your eyes?"

"I'm blind."

"Oh, the blindfold, right. You can take that off now."

"Gee, thanks." He yanked it off. "Now, what's so wonder-" He stopped talking when he saw the car. It was the exact replica of the bat mobile.

"Do you like it? They don't make a real "Batmobile" so I bought a muggle car and had a few perks added to it."

"Perks?" he asked somewhat afraid. This was the same woman that had considered her coffee a "perk" of living with her.

"Well, there's only one wizard in the world that will trick out a car so again, tada!"

"Just tell me one thing, is there any chance at all that something bad will happen if I go near it?"

"Nope, but if you call the car an 'it' again, I'll kick you. It's _the Batmobile._" She purposely enunciated each syllable. "See, I can do the teacher mode too."

"So I noticed. Well, it looks very much like the real thing. Ow, if you keep kicking me, we're going to have a very serious problem in this relationship."

"We already have a serious problem, you call the Batmobile an it. You don't like anything I do for you!" She turned away and pretended to cry.

"Of course I do. I love the car."

"Good!" she said, turning back with a smile. "Then let's go for a drive."

He agreed and when they were four streets away, she turned to him. "You do have a license, right?"

"You first think to ask that now? Yes, I have a license. Someone has to be the responsible one in this marriage."

"Well, you're too responsible which is why you need me to be the unresponsible one so you actually have some fun and don't curse any students."

"How long have you been rehearsing that speech?"

"Awhile," she confided. "I knew you would point out my lack of responsibility sooner or later so I had to have something prepared to contradict you so you have no choice but to stay married to me. So ha, you have to love me because I make you fun."

She was met with silence.

"Well, aren't you going to say something? Agree with me, yell at me, anything to make sure you haven't slipped into cardiac arrest!" He laughed at that. "Yay, you're conscious!"

"Duh! If I weren't I wouldn't be driving properly and would have crashed killing us both in a fiery death."

"Gee, aren't you an optimistic driver?" she asked sarcastically. "And duh? I'm supposed to be the teenage girl in this relationship. By the way, what are you getting for my birthday?"

"I don't even know when your birthday is, you never mentioned it."

"October thirty-first."

"Halloween? That's two months away!"

"I know, but it's important for a husband to put thought and consideration into a gift and not procrastinate."

"But you already have everything. What more could you possibly want?"

"Well, I thought I had everything and then I met you so maybe you'll find something that I will want. If you can't find anything, a quiet dinner and a dozen roses and some chocolate sounds nice."

"You give me that huge speech and that's all you want?"

"I wanted to make sure I'd get something and now that a quiet dinner and a dozen roses and some chocolate sounds like something easy, I know I'll get it. You see, I'm a genius too."

"Uh-huh," he said examining the dashboard very closely. "You realize there's a Halloween feast at Hogwarts that I'll likely be forced to attend. Albus mentioned having a costume party and dance afterwards as well. He thought it would be a nice distraction from the war and destruction."

"Good thing you told me. STOP THE CAR!" she screamed.

"What's wrong?" he slammed on the brakes.

"I'll need a costume and there's the store. I'll go inside, you park the car somewhere."

"I can think of one place I'd like to park it."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Calling the car an it again, how could you?"

* * *

After an hour inside the store, Severus had decided to go as dun, dun, dunn, Sponge Bob. Just kidding, it was Batman. Miranda was a bit more choosy.

"_This one makes my butt look fat. That one looks disgusting with my skin tone. Will I still fit into this by then?"_

"_What's wrong with it? It's how you normally look."_

"_ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT??"_

"_No, I'm just, never mind, I'll shut up." _

The final question had stuck in Severus' brain though. Why wouldn't she fit into something two months from now? Was she pregnant? He considered asking her, but accidentally calling her fat once was enough. _'Though it would explain the mood swings.'_

The costume she finally decided on was Catwoman. At first, Severus had been rather apprehensive about having a second cat lady around, but he fully appreciated the black leather outfit. He questioned though, only to himself, if the outfit was really the right one if she was worried about still fitting into something two months from now.

"Well, you get to be Batman, so he needs a superhero sidekick and I am NOT dressing up like Robin. He looks far too much like Harry Potter." Severus was glad she didn't choose Robin, it would have been unsettlingly looking at his wife and thinking of Potter. He shuddered at the thought. That was almost as scary as the thought she may be pregnant and having to face _that_ horrible monster for the next few months, if today was any indication.

**Do you like it? This chapter was finished really soon after the last one. So proud of myself. Please comment and I'll try to get another one up soon. Any thoughts on Miranda and the 'horrible monster'? If she is pregnant, the baby is a Snape so it has to give its parents a hard time.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Thanks to everyone that reviewed. You guys are so awesome!**

The remainder of the summer, albeit just a few days, passed in the same manner. Miranda would go to Grimmauld Place to do research while Severus would prepare himself to face dunderheads every day, though Miranda wasn't sure what that entailed. On the last day of summer holidays, Mrs. Weasley ordered the Snapes both to eat at headquarters, a meal she had been preparing all day. Miranda would know, she had been dragged into helping rather forcefully.

"_Honestly Mrs. Weasley, I don't cook. Once in a while I don't burn the pancakes, but that's about all," Miranda had defended. _

"_Nonsense dear, with a husband, and I'm sure you'll be starting a family soon, you'll need to be capable of cooking for them. Besides, I hear you used to cook for Severus rather often at the beginning of your relationship and even now. But please allow someone else to make the coffee." Mrs. Weasley smiled kindly._

Miranda had told Sirius that in confidence. _'He must have blabbed. He is in so much trouble.'_

She considered being angry at Mrs. Weasley, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, she was such a kind woman and seemed to be willing to take in just about any child that needed a home regardless of the large number of people in her family already. Actually she should probably be thanking Mrs. Weasley for being nice to her even after all the torture she put Ron through during the school year, not that he didn't deserve it.

Unfortunately, there weren't any opportunities to reek revenge so Miranda was forced to save her anger for another time. She and Severus returned to Hogwarts that night to prepare for the first week of classes.

It was during this first week that Miranda started to feel queasy. It seemed she had the stomach flu, or at least that's what she thought. This nausea made put her on edge and many students were lucky to get away alive the way she would target anyone who got on her nerves. She started to feel guilty about tormenting so many of them, so decided it was time to pay a visit to Madam Pomfrey.

In the Infirmary

"Well, it doesn't seem to be the flu so I'll just run a few more tests and we should be able to diagnose the problem. Does Severus know you're here?" Pomfrey asked, beginning to wave her wand in an elaborate manner and muttering a spell.

"No, he was in class when I decided to come here."

Pomfrey just nodded. "Aha! I have good news Mrs. Snape. You're going to have a baby boy."

"What!?"

"You're pregnant with a baby boy! Isn't that wonderful news? Mrs. Snape? Miranda?" Miranda had fainted. When she woke up in the infirmary an hour later, she realized what she thought had been a dream was reality.

"Ah, I see you're finally awake," Poppy said, walking towards her with a vial and glass of water. "I was just about to contact Severus, but now you can tell him the good news yourself. I'm sure he'll be proud to know he has a son on the way."

"Yeah, proud."

"Here you go, dear, it's a calming potion. I know events like this can make you rather anxious. I have some books for first time parents, if you like."

"Oh, well, I used to baby-sit when I was younger so I know how to take care of kids. Thanks though," she added before she downed the potion. "This won't hurt the baby will it?"

"Don't worry, it's gentle enough for pregnant women."

"Thank you, again, but I should probably be getting back to my quarters. I still need to figure out a way to tell Severus."

"Of course dear, have a nice day."

Miranda walked down to the dungeons and sat on a loveseat in the sitting room. She still couldn't figure out what the best way would be to tell Severus she was pregnant. She honestly believed he hated children. _'Maybe it's just other people's kids,'_ she mused. _'Congratulations, you're going to have a son. No, that's not the right way. Maybe I'll cook. Hi, Severus I made dinner and, oh yeah, it's a boy.'_

"What's a boy?" She hadn't even heard him come in the door or realized that she had said the last part out loud.

"Um, maybe you should sit down."

"Bad news, huh? Is Persephone sick? I'm sure it's just something that will pass in a day or two."

"No, it's not Persephone. I went to see Poppy today."

"Finally, I was starting to get worried about you. Is it just the flu or something more serious?"

"No, it's not the flu, Severus, it's a boy."

"Indeed?" "Yep, you're eighteen year old wife is preggers. Congratulations!"

"You sound upset."

"Of course I'm upset. I'm eighteen, married, and pregnant and my husband hates children so this is just fan-bloody-tastic for me!"

"I don't hate children. I hate other people's children, but it would be different with my own. I know-" he cleared his throat. "I know what it's like to have a father that hates you, I would never submit my own children to that level of abuse."

"I know, I know, it's just these stupid hormones cause slight mood swings and just ignore me for the next nine months, okay? Especially when I start to get fat."

"You're not going to get fat, you're pregnant and I will not ignore you, whatever you need, I'll get you." He wasn't dumb enough to make any comments about the mood swings, particularly pointing out the fact that they most certainly were not slight.

She laughed at that. "We'll see if you say the same thing once I make you go out at three in the morning to get me chocolate chip cookie dough or Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream or pickles."

"Pickles?" he questioned.

"Ugh, don't say that word, the thought of pickles makes me want to puke."

"But you just said it."

"Don't argue with a pregnant woman."

"And so the mood swings start."

"Humph, if you don't want to be nice, I'll just reconsider the offer to be Slughorn's assistant instead of yours, or maybe Lockhart will be brought back and I can work for him!"

"May I point out that you've never even met Lockhart, and that he is in the psychiatric ward of St. Mungo's?"

"That's not the point," she disagreed.

"Then what is the point?"

"I'm right, you're wrong, now get me a pickle!"

"I thought you hated pickles."

"Fine, I'll get a pickle all by myself, but you're changing the first diaper." She walked away leaving him with a sour look on his face. The scowl on his face rivaled all previous ones.

"I forgot about diapers," he groaned. "And feeding him that disgusting baby food, and teaching him, and oh no, I hope he isn't a little brat."

"Of course he's going to act like a brat at some time, Severus, he's not only my child, but yours too, so he's going to be unbearably pigheaded," Miranda said walking back into the room, pint of ice cream in hand.

"I am not pigheaded! And I thought you wanted a pickle, not ice cream."

"The fact that you felt the need to point that out proves I'm right. And I did want a pickle, but the ice cream called to me."

"I don't think food has ever called to me."

"Well, have you ever been pregnant? No, I didn't think so, and that's why you don't understand. And if you ever become pregnant we're going to have a serious problem in this relationship."

"You don't say?" he queried sarcastically.

"Another rule, don't be sarcastic to a pregnant woman, we can make your life a living hell."

"You already could."

"I know, isn't it wonderful, but I'll be nicer if you get me a cookie."

"You have ice cream."

"I know, but I don't have a cookie and that's the problem."

"But you're already eating."

She set the ice cream on the coffee table. "Now I'm not."

"Fine." He called a house elf and ordered a jar of pickles and an assortment of cookies.

"I only wanted cookies. Now they're icky because they're by the pickles."

"Eat the damn cookies," he all but hissed.

"Fine, gees, no reason to get vicious. You know, I just thought of something," she said taking a cookie.

"Please don't let it involve food."

"No, actually, it's a bit more serious than that. What do you think Grandfather will do when he finds out about Charlie?"

"Who's Charlie and shouldn't you be more worried about your husband, AKA me, finding out about him?"

"Nope, not unless you're jealous of your son. I'm just trying out names. But Oliver is going to be one of the most powerful babies ever born and surely, the monster will create some sort of horrible agenda with that information. I mean, he could probably bring down the entire Wizarding World with the flick of his wrist."

"The Dark Lord?"

"No, Elliot, aren't you paying attention?"

"Honestly, love, I'm having trouble keeping up with all these names."

"That's not important, I just need to know what to do about Severus Junior."

"For now, put a glamour over any baby bump you may have and ensure that no one knows that could possibly inform the Dark Lord."

"I can do that."

"I know, and for Merlin's sake, cookies do not belong with pickles. That's revolting." She had sandwiched a pickle between two cookies and added peanut butter, something he had not the slightest idea where she got it from.

"I know but Severus Junior likes it."

"You finally stick with a name and choose that?"

"Fine, you choose a name."

"Sebastian Severus Snape."

"See, he's still a Severus Junior, I win yet again!" She proceeded to do what could only be deemed a victory dance.

**Did you like it? Please review. The next chapter will be up as soon as I find time to write it.**


	28. Chapter 28

High up in the infirmary, Madam Pomfrey was going over her inventory. It seemed she had made a mistake the day before. "Oh dear," she said. "I better talk to the Snapes immediately.

Miranda wasn't having the best day. She woke up exhausted and with a headache. She remembered acting borderline insane the previous day, but had no idea why. The mood swings weren't terribly surprising, the problem was how quickly her mood had been changing. _'Oh no!' _she thought. _'Sev must think I'm nuts now. What if he wants a divorce?! I can't raise a child on my own.' Okay, okay, breathe Miranda. He won't leave me. I hope'_

Severus walked into their bedroom with the stealth and cautious footing he had gained as years as a spy. He had a tray with food. "Ahem, I brought you breakfast. I hope you can have this. It's bacon and eggs."

"Thanks. Yesterday was kind of weird, huh? I'm not sure why I was acting that way. Sorry."

"It's probably just the mood swings. Don't worry, I'll adjust, just take care of yourself and the baby." He still seemed somewhat afraid to get too close. It was as if she was an angry dragon and he was the possible prey.

They heard the floo open up to their sitting room. "Excuse me, Severus? Miranda? Is anyone here? I'm sorry to disturb you so early, but there's a matter that we really must discuss immediately."

"What's wrong Poppy?" Severus asked walking into the sitting room. Miranda was following close behind him.

"It's about the checkup with Miranda yesterday. Could you come up to the infirmary?" The Snapes agreed and they got ready to head to the infirmary.

"I was just going over my inventory this morning and realized that I gave you the wrong potion yesterday. I thought I was giving you a calming draft, but it was actually a potion similar to what I believe the muggles call laughing gas. I'm horribly sorry, but I assure you, it caused absolutely no harm to the baby."

"Oh thank God, Severus Junior is okay and I'm not crazy, at least not anymore so than Sirius believes. Let's have a party to celebrate. Who should we invite?"

"She's back to normal now, I see," said Madam Pomfrey.

"Indeed," replied Severus. "At least this version is far less dangerous to the general population." Normally, Miranda would have been highly insulted, but she was far too busy contemplating who she was going to invite to her "I'm not crazy!" party. "Though at least the other version would have cleared out every guest within the first hour."

"You should have considered that when you proposed," said Miranda. "I'm a social butterfly." She waved her arms like wings.

"Please don't tell me you're going to take up flying now," he groaned.

"Of course not! That is, definitely not until Sebastian Severus Snape is born. You know I like the name Fabio."

"We are not naming my son Fabio."

"He's not just your son, he's my son too. Fine, how about Fred?"

"No! He'll be as troublesome as the Weasley twins before he's even born. We'll discuss this later."

"Alright, I'll be in the Great Hall. The newest member of the Snape family wants food and so do I. Toodles!" And with that, she left the infirmary in a billow of robes befitting only of a Snape. Miranda saw Ron nearing the entrance to the Great Hall and called after him.

"Ron, you won't believe it, I have the most wonderful news!" she said cheerily as she caught up with him.

"Did you get a new torture method?" he asked in fear.

"No, even better. I'm pregnant. Isn't that wonderful? Right now, I think his name is going to be Severus Junior. Doesn't that have a wonderful ring to it?"

"Junior?" He blanched white and backed away. When he bumped into someone, he squeaked and ran into the Great Hall, seeking safety from the one person more sadistic than Severus Snape, Severus Snape's wife.

"I hope it wasn't something I said," Miranda told Hermione who just happened to be the person Ron had bumped into.

"I think for the first time in his life, Ron may miss breakfast," replied Hermione with a small smile. "So you're really pregnant?"

"Yep, I just found out yesterday." Miranda decided not to tell her about the "mood swing" incident. "I suppose the good part about it is I'll have more time to research h- err, my project." She nearly told Granger about the horcruxes, something she didn't want to burden such a young person with.

"Really? What's your project about?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing really, just a new potion we, meaning Severus and I, have been working on."

"Oh, alright, I'll just let you get to breakfast."

"Good morning, Minerva, Albus," Miranda said, taking her seat at the head table. "I suppose I should tell you both the good news, though I suspect you've heard already. I'm having Severus' baby." Minerva dropped her toast and Albus' eyes were twinkling enough to blind someone. Miranda pondered if perhaps this was what one felt like when viewing the world's largest, most brilliant diamond. _'I should really get my tiara,'_ she thought to herself.

"Does Severus know, dear?" asked Minerva.

"Of course he knows!" she exclaimed. "I wouldn't tell anyone else unless Severus knew."

"Is that why he's not to breakfast yet? Oh no, he had a stroke at the news didn't he? You know, he doesn't particularly like children. Such a brilliant potions master and now another brilliant mind lost."

Severus, who happened to have entered the Great Hall halfway through Minerva's little rant, answered. "I assure you, Minerva, that I did not have a _stroke_ and I most certainly do like children. I simply detest the dunderheads you call students. Now, if you are quite finished spreading vicious rumors about my person, I would like to drink my coffee and eat a bagel in peace."

Professor McGonagall was unable to utter a single response and instead sat there with an awestruck expression on her face. "You don't hate children?" she finally managed to croak out.

Severus' only response was a fiery glare that allowed no room for more discussion on the topic. "Well, I think it's wonderful," said Dumbledore. It'll be nice having smaller children around the castle. Have you decided on a name yet?"

"Don," was Miranda's only response.

"You went from Fred to Don in the short walk from the infirmary to the Great Hall?" questioned Severus with a hint of annoyance. "All these name you keep coming up with are getting ridiculous."

"No, not a name for the baby. Look." She pointed to an article in the Daily Prophet. "Don, one of my people, was arrested for connections to the Dark Lord."

"You could be in serious danger," Severus said, taking the paper from her.

"No, that's not the problem. He has nothing to do with Voldemort. I know this with absolute certainty. Don hates him more than anyone."

"Clearly the Ministry of Magic is attempting to find anyone to blame. This article is proof enough. Just be careful where you go and what people you are seen with. The Ministry will especially be looking for reasons to carry you off to Azkaban."

"Oh, thank you, Captain Obvious. If you're going to waste your breath speaking, at least say something helpful, like how to keep the Ministry away from me." With that, she got up and stormed out of the Hall.

"Is that normal behavior from her?" questioned Minerva. She had never seen anyone speak to Severus Snape in such a manner and it shocked her.

"Unfortunately, it's the way she acts when she's pregnant. So long as no one slips her anything, this is as extreme as her mood swings get."

The rest of the day passed relatively uneventfully. Only one disarming spell turned into a slightly more dangerous one. The student was sent to the infirmary after they received a small bump to the head. Okay, they were thrown into the wall.

"Here, sign this," Severus was told by his wife.

"What is it?" he asked, eyeing the paper carefully.

"The paperwork for the student's injury."

"You finished it already?" She nodded. "You really do save a lot of time." He quickly signed the paper and handed it back to her.

"Of course I do, now I'm off to dinner. Goodness, trying to starve the mother of your child with all this work."

"But dinner doesn't even begin for another ten minutes."

"Which means I have just enough time to make it to the Great Hall before Ron Weasley devours everything."

Severus shook his head in disbelief. _'Only nine more months,'_ he reminded himself.

**Here's my little Christmas gift to my readers. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Have a safe, happy holiday season.**


	29. Chapter 29

As always, JK Rowling owns everything except Miranda and Persephone.

Miranda was sitting on the loveseat in her and Severus' quarters after dinner that evening.

"I thought you said you were going to keep the pregnancy a secret," Severus told her, sitting next to her and taking the book she had been reading from her hands.

"Well, I decided against it. I did some research and when a Queen of the Underworld is pregnant, her powers will be increased until the child is born, as to protect both the mother and the baby. So, I sent a note to Voldemort already, telling him the good news. Plus, this way, I can torment any misbehaving students with the knowledge that there's going to be a brand new Snape in the world."

"I suppose I better buy some of those muggle contraptions – what are they – oh yes, earplugs," Severus said, picking up a potions journal and flipping to a bookmarked page.

"Why?" asked Miranda.

"When the students write home complaining about how the mean DADA teacher and his wife are giving them nightmares and traumatizing them for life, there will certainly be howlers."

"Well, then, I will simply need to give them detentions, wait until detention to share with them the good news and threaten to Obliviate anyone that runs to tell mummy and daddy."

Severus didn't say anything and just stared at her.

"What?" she asked when he still didn't answer.

"I'm beginning to see the family resemblance."

"And?"

"It's terrifying."

"Precisely why there will be no Howlers," she said, smiling triumphantly. "Now, I need ice cream." She got up and walked to the kitchenette.

"You just ate dinner," Severus called after her.

"Yes, and now I'm hungry again and want ice cream."

"Merlin help us," he moaned. "A pregnant Miranda is like Ron Weasley."

"Hey," she said, brandishing a shiny silver spoon at him. "I happen to know you're not attracted to Ron Weasley. And besides I close my mouth when I chew. See." To prove her point, she took a large spoonful of ice cream, and started chewing. After ten seconds she made a funny face and ran to the sink to spit the remainder out. "That was cold!" she whined.

"Hence the ICE portion of the name," he informed her.

"Well, maybe they shouldn't make it with ice."

"Then it would be milk."

"Milk and cookies!" she shouted. "What a fabulous idea. I knew there was a reason I married you."

"You mean the proud estate that is Spinner's End and my charming personality weren't enough?"

"Spinner's End isn't that bad, especially since we're making improvements. And as to your personality, um, it fits you well." Severus snorted.

"That was the best you could come up with to describe my personality?" he asked.

"Okay, since apparently my new job description is walking thesaurus, let's give it a shot. You're dark, brooding and pig-headed, but I love you even after taking all that into consideration. And you can be charming when you want to, which is usually just around me. Satisfied?"

"I believe so, but don't quit your day-job to follow this thesaurus dream of yours. You were adequate though." He smirked at the enraged look she gave him.

"High praise indeed," she said through clenched teeth and returned to her cookies. "I'll have you know though, Mr. Snape, that I have the capability of making a student cry with just a little red ink on their assignment."

"Of course you do or I'd never have considered marrying you."

"That was your requirement?" she asked in shock. "To make a child cry?" She looked protectively at her still-flat stomach.

"I was kidding and anyway, I have told you before that it's other people's children that I can't stand. I'd never intentionally hurt our own child."

"So you'll let me name him Severus Fabio Snape?" she asked hopefully.

"Not in a million years, but nice try."

"Okay, how about we call -" she didn't get to finish that thought before Severus pressed his lips to hers and gave her a bruising kiss. "Wow."

"It was the only way to stop you from talking. Now, I forbid you to say another word about names for the next three months."

"But that's a long time," she whined.

"I don't care! Do not even say 'name' in the next three months. I will take you shopping on the next Hogsmeade weekend and buy you anything you want, but only if you promise now that you will be quiet as far as names are concerned for at least your first trimester."

"But-"

"Either you promise or you don't, but only one way will get you diamonds."

"Diamonds?" she asked, a sparkle in her eye. She tossed the cookie she'd been holding onto the plate on the coffee table and looked at him expectantly.

"I said anything you wish. Diamonds are what you'll likely choose though."

"Oh, Severus! Not one more word about names for the next three months," she made a zipping motion across her lips and pretended to lock them shut. She then handed him the imaginary key. "Uh-uh, no sirree Bob, not one word, silent as the grave, mum's the word, not going to discuss it..." she continued her one-woman monologue on the way out of the room.

"I'm already nostalgic for the naming process," he muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose as a migraine approached.

* * *

What should Miranda choose on the trip to Hogsmeade? Please review.


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